What if things were different: Reversal of Fortune
by woolenslipper
Summary: Jack is still handsome and brave; Elizabeth is still strong-willed and dedicated, but there's a major difference in their lives when they get to Coal Valley.
1. Chapter 1

**What if things were different: Reversal of fortune**

Elizabeth Thatcher, wearing a simple skirt and blouse, stood in front of the chalkboard, writing the day's math assignment in figures large enough that even the children who would sit in the back of the room would be able to see it.

As she pushed a rebellious curl out of her face, she realized that she had probably gotten chalk dust on her forehead. For a moment, she wished she had taken a room at the saloon, instead of agreeing to stay with Abigail Stanton, so she could quickly go upstairs and check her appearance in a mirror. She liked staying with Abigail, but it was a bother that her home was one of the farthest from the saloon.

 _Oh well,_ she thought. The students would be here soon and it wasn't as if they would be immaculately groomed. Not like the wealthy kids she had expected to be teaching at the prestigious school in Hamilton.

She had splurged and spent more money than she could afford on getting a nice dress in anticipation of teaching in Hamilton. Now the dress, with its lace detail and tiny cloth-covered buttons, lay in her room at Abigail's. There was no reason to wear such a fancy dress to teach in a saloon.

Hamilton. That was where she had expected to be teaching. She had dreamed of living in a big city, teaching a classroom of motivated students, visiting museums in her free time. She had finally gotten her dream job, to teach at one of the top rated schools in the city, and then suddenly it was taken away.

She still didn't understand how she had ended up here, in this small town of Coal Valley. Even the name was unimaginative.

The sound of footsteps and a glimpse of red clothing out of the corner of her eye caused her to turn around.

"Oh, hello, I didn't know anyone else was here", she said when she saw the man, about her age and wearing red serge, walking past the tables.

"Good morning, I'm staying in one of the rooms upstairs until something more permanent can be arranged."

"I'm Elizabeth Thatcher. I'm the new teacher here, but I guess you've probably already gathered that".

Elizabeth offered her hand to the man and noticed that he was only a few inches taller than her, although perhaps that was because she was wearing heels.

"Constable Jack Thornton, I'm the new Mountie in town, but I guess you've already gathered that", he said with a friendly smile.

He spoke like a man who came from wealth. She noticed his confidence, his perfect diction, the way his uniform fit him impeccably. He was also handsome, there was no denying that, but Elizabeth wasn't interested in meeting any handsome Mounties. She had come to Coal Valley to teach for year, hopefully less, and that was it.

 _Why, he's actually flirting with me, teasing me about feeling cheated out of chalk dust,_ Elizabeth realized when she apologized for thinking she had gotten some chalk on his hands. _Why is it that men in uniform or with wealth always think they can turn a poor girl's head?_

When Elizabeth, trying to think of polite conversation, mentioned that she was surprised that Coal Valley merited a full time Mountie, she was even more surprised by the constable's answer.

"I've always dreamed of having an assignment out west, in a small town, living so close to the wilderness. I don't want a job working in an office building or a big city. I couldn't ask for a more perfect assignment that being out here."

"Not me. I've lived in a small town my whole life. My original teaching posting was in Hamilton but that suddenly changed," Elizabeth responded candidly.

"I imagine Coal Valley will be a little quieter for you than a busy city like Hamilton"

"Wait, you know the city?"

"Very well, my family's lived there and has had a business there for many years."

"What's the business?"

"Thornton. Thornton Shipping"

"Thornton Shipping. . . Your mother is Mrs. Thornton, the education philanthropist?" Elizabeth was stunned.

"Well, I don't think of her that way, but yes, I suppose she is."

"Well, now it's all making sense", Elizabeth said coldly.

"What is?" Jack asked, clearly confused.

"Constable Thornton, a week ago I had never even heard of Coal Valley and while I was planning my trip to Hamilton, I was told that I was being reassigned by the Superintendent of Schools. Reassigned at the request of a very powerful family. I'm almost sure it was your family."

"My family?"

"Your mother is a well-known socialite and reformer, especially when it comes to education. She's donated money to several schools and funded numerous scholarships."

Elizabeth's voice was harsh as she continued her rant, "She obviously heard about this town because her precious son was getting stationed here. And she found out that there wasn't a teacher here, so she probably contacted her connections and made sure that this dusty coal town had a teacher!"

"Miss Thatcher, I'm sure my mother had nothing to do with you getting posted here."

"Well, I am just as sure that she did. You want to live out your dream, and your mommy is making sure you have the perfect little town your family money can buy. Because of you, I'll be spending the next year teaching barely literate barefoot children instead of the taking class field trips to art museums and city hall and libraries and listening to visiting scholars!"

"Miss Thatcher, let's be clear. Even if my mother did pull strings to get you assigned here, I have no need for a teacher who doesn't want to teach students who desperately need her. Good day."

Elizabeth stood there fuming as Constable Jack Thornton put on his hat, then grabbed the brim and slightly tipped it to her in a gentlemanly fashion before walking out of the saloon.

It wasn't that Elizabeth had something against teaching the students. She would teach them as best as she could. But she had grown up poor herself, going to a one room school of barefoot and barely literate students.

Hamilton had been her chance to live her dream, to get out of a small town. And now, a rich infuriatingly handsome man who wanted to play Mountie instead of working in the family business was interfering with her plans!

* * *

Abigail handed Elizabeth the bowls of steaming soup to put on the table, as she checked on the dinner rolls in the oven.

"How is teaching going so far?"

"Fine, other than I had to break up a fight between some boys."

"The children are going through a rough time, with the mine accident. It's affected everyone in town, in some way or another."

"I know, Abigail, and I'm so sorry for your loss. And I can relate to the students." Elizabeth said sympathetically.

"How old did you say you were when your father died?"

"Ten. It was rough. My mother took in sewing to help, and by the time I was 12, I was working odd jobs to help out . . . sewing, . . .cleaning . .. watching children."

The women moved around the kitchen quietly for a minute, each thinking of their own losses: Abigail's son and husband in the mine accident, and Elizabeth's father from sickness.

"What do you think of the new Mountie in town?" Abigail asked, as she poured them each a glass of milk.

"He's got no business being here. Did you see the fancy clothes he's been wearing when not in uniform? He's worn a different shirt every day. It's obvious his clothes are all hand tailored just for him. I'm sure they cost a fortune."

"You must have been staring at him quite a bit to notice that", Abigail said with a grin.

Elizabeth blushed a little as she quickly explained, "I sew. I notice well-made clothes. That's all."

"I heard him, over at the Saloon, talking to some men. He was mentioning an animal he had seen in the woods, and asking if anyone knew what it was. I had to tell him it was Fisher cat. The idiot thought it was a weasel or muskrat."

"Elizabeth, that's harsh. I'm sure a wealthy city boy isn't used to seeing Fisher cats in the city. The women in town seem to be quite taken by him. He's been talking to the widows, asking questions about the mine accident and also the church burning. I'm actually impressed with him. He seems like a very thorough, intelligent, caring man. You can't blame him because he comes from a wealthy family."

"I'm sure he's nice enough. If the town women want him, they can have him." Elizabeth said with a disinterested shrug.

"What about you? You don't think you'll ever settle done and marry?"

"I want to be a teacher. Most places don't allow married female teachers. After I teach for a while, I want to go back to school some more, and maybe one day even teach at a college! There's no room in my life for a husband. If the school system wanted female teachers to marry, they wouldn't make it against the rules."

* * *

Jack sat at his desk surveying the jail. He had never lived in such a primitive town and it would take some getting used to. But if he had to choose between this town and working in the family business, he was choosing this town.

He had spent his summers, home from boarding school, working at Thornton Shipping, learning about contracts, how to make a profit on cheap labor, the best transportation methods, and even the best type of wood for shipping crates. He hated it. He hated that everything and everyone involved was about making the most profit. Not just that, it was dull.

Jack had promised his family that he would write when he had arrived in Coal Valley. He had already sent a telegram, but he knew Tom would appreciate a letter. Even though he and Tom were opposites in many ways, they were still close.

 _Dear Tom,_

 _Coal Valley is everything I imagined. I really feel like I'll be doing some good here. There's been an accident at the local mine that caused the death of over 40 miners, as well as a possible case of arson at the church. Pretty exciting for my first week._

 _The trip here was interesting. After sleeping in a tent and eating off a campfire for a few days, I can't say I didn't miss my feather bed and Cook's warm breakfasts._

 _I know father expects me to take over the Shipping business one day, and I appreciate you stepping up and supporting me. Father thinks I'll get this "Mountie business", as he puts it, out of my system, but I don't think so._

 _I'm sleeping at the saloon for now. It's probably best not to tell mum or she'll most likely get hysterical and order father to quickly have a house built for me. My room is small and barren, nothing like back home, but I am enjoying the experience._

 _Give my best to everyone back home, including the boys at the club._

 _P.S. You can tell mum that there's a new teacher in town. She's infuriating, but quite the looker, but best not tell mum that part. I'm sure Mum's already lining up more suitable marriageable ladies to force on me when I get back to Hamilton. If mother thought she was sending an old schoolmarm here, I think she'd be very surprised._

 _Jack_

As Jack sat there, he found himself thinking more about Elizabeth. Despite her objection to teaching in Coal Valley, he had heard nothing but good things about her from the students and their parents. By all accounts, she was a fine dedicated teacher.

He decided that if she wasn't so stubborn about being assigned to Coal Valley, they might actually become friends.

The more he thought about Elizabeth, the more he realized that he liked her unruly hair, the way she put her hands on her hips when she was frustrated, her feistiness. She was nothing like his female friends back home in Hamilton. Jack smiled when he thought about what she would be like if she was in the same room as the ladies he had grown up with. He had no doubt she'd be able to hold her own.

Jack decided he might just like to see more of Miss Elizabeth Thatcher.


	2. Chapter 2- The Trouble with Money

Chapter 2 – The Trouble with Money

"Abigail, I've been here almost five weeks and your baking still amazes me every day. You put my family cook to shame."

"I'm sure your family cook is much better than me. But thank you for the compliment", Abigail said with a smile, as she took another muffin from her basket and put in front of Jack at his table at the Saloon.

"If you ever come to Hamilton, you'll have to meet her and show her a thing or two."

Abigail gave a laugh. "Thank you, Jack, but I don't see myself visiting Hamilton anytime soon."

Jack frowned as he thought about his life in Hamilton. "Abigail, do you think Elizabeth resents me for having money?"

"Why do you ask?"

"She mentioned that she needed some more books for the school, and when I offered to pay, she got furious at me."

Abigail paused before speaking.

"I think she feels uncomfortable with you having so much money. The two of you have become good friends in the short time you both have been here. Jack, she's not from the same social standing as you, and I'm sure it makes her feel a little insecure at times."

"But, I just wanted to give her a gift of some school books."

"She's a proud woman. She doesn't want money from a friend. And she's right. As my husband, Noah, used to say 'nothing can ruin a friendship more than money.'"

"Speaking of Elizabeth, would you do me a favor, Jack, if you have time?"

"Of course, Abigail. What is it?", Jack asked, putting down his coffee cup.

"Elizabeth was out walking earlier. I think she went to the pond to enjoy the sunshine, but she hasn't come back yet. It will be getting dark soon, and I don't think she brought a lantern with her."

"I'll head on over there now", Jack said, quickly pushing back his chair.

"Thank you, Jack."

Abigail smiled. It was obvious to her that the town constable and town school teacher had taken a liking to each other. Although it was only a few weeks ago that Elizabeth had said that Jack had no business being in Coal Valley, Elizabeth had certainly been spending a lot of time with him, Abigail thought as she watched Jack walk out the door.

By the time Jack neared the pond, the sun was already low in the sky. He could just make out Elizabeth, in her light colored dress, as she gathered her blanket and started walking towards him.

"Jack, what are you doing here?"

"Looking for a missing school teacher", he said with a smile.

"Abigail was concerned that you hadn't brought a lantern, and it looks like she was right. It will be pitch-black by the time we get back to town."

"I know. I'm sorry you had to come get me. I did lose track of the time."

"Let me guess. You were writing in that journal of yours."

"For only knowing me for just over a month, you know me very well, Constable Thornton", Elizabeth said with a laugh.

"Well, I hope I know you well enough that it won't be too forward of me to ask you to take my arm. I wouldn't want you to trip and fall in the darkness. Even with a lantern, it's dark out here."

"Thank you, Jack." Elizabeth said happily as she took his arm. She didn't think she really needed it, but she wanted to take his arm anyway.

"So what were you writing about in your journal?"

"Just about teaching, the students."

"Anything interesting?"

As Elizabeth told Jack that she suspected Albert, or Pockets, as the other students called him, still had a crush on her, she once again realized how much she enjoyed Jack's company.

She found his confidence and good nature to be contagious, and he seemed to generally care for her. _Although, I suppose that he cares about all the citizens of Coal Valley_.

Sometimes when she was with Jack, it was like being with an old family friend and the conversation flowed naturally with laughter. Other times, well . . .other times it reminded her of being at the ocean. Like she was standing in the sand feeling nervous and excited because she knew a huge wave was going to wash over her and leave her feeling thrilled.

As they got closer to town, their footsteps slowed considerably. Elizabeth told herself that Jack was probably just slowing down because of the darkness, but she knew that wasn't the only reason her pace was slower. The longer they had walked this evening, the more she was getting that ocean feeling.

"Elizabeth, now that I think about it, you're a year or two older than most women just starting out teaching. Why is that?"

"It took me a while to save up the money for teacher's college. It would have taken even longer but I got a scholarship, which helped tremendously."

"I'm not surprised you got a scholarship. You are very smart."

"Thank you. My old school teacher knew I was saving up to go to college, and she told me about the scholarship being offered when she found out about it. When I got the letter in the mail telling me I had won, I started running through the house screaming and then ran all the way to the school to tell her."

Suddenly, Elizabeth became embarrassed. "You probably think that's silly. Getting so excited, with your family having so much money. . . .but it meant a lot to me."

"I'm sure it was exciting", Jack chuckled. "I felt the same way when I made it into the Mounties. I just didn't running around screaming."

"But tell me, when you accepted the check, did you run around the benefactor screaming? Because that may have frightened him", he said with a laugh.

"Actually, I never met the benefactor. I just got a check in the mail with a nice congratulatory letter. I had never heard of the company before. I did send it a thank you, though."

"What was the name of the company?"

"It wasn't your Thornton Shipping! I'm not one of your mother's charity cases", Elizabeth remarked suddenly feeling somewhat defensive.

"It was a crate company . . .something with two letters. P & J Crates, or T & J Crates, or J & T crates, I think, or something like that. Well, here we are. Thank you for walking me home, Jack."

After they said good night, Elizabeth closed the door and sighed pleasantly; she certainly enjoyed her time with Jack.

Thinking back over their conversations, she realized she probably shouldn't have reacted harshly when he had asked the name of the company from which she had received a scholarship.

 _Just because Jack's family has money, doesn't mean he cares a lick about it! It's not like he has money himself or he owns Thornton Shipping. It doesn't seem to matter to him at all that I didn't have money growing up._ _Why, he truly seemed proud of me that I had won the scholarship,_ she thought as a smile crossed her face.

If it hadn't been so dark outside, Elizabeth may have noticed the odd expression Jack had gotten on his face when he had heard her say the name "J & T Crates".

* * *

Three weeks later, Jack pulled the envelope from his desk and re-read the letter he had received that morning.

 _Dear Jack,_

 _I can't tell you how pleased I was to receive your letter asking about J & T Crates. When your mother and I started that company when you were just a small boy, it was my intention that you and Tom would run it together one day. I am so happy that you have finally shown an interest in it after all these years._

 _I spoke to your mother and our accountant, Mr. Rogers, regarding your question about scholarships, although I was a little perplexed as to why you would ask._

 _For a number of years, Thornton Shipping, as well as our other smaller companies, including J & T Crates, have been financing scholarships to students interested in teaching, as you suspected in your letter. _

_Your mother does not get involved in choosing the actual recipients; she is far too busy. However, she does give the committee a list of criteria. Rest assured that your company's money is doing good for others. The recipient must be upstanding, financially in need, and show a dedication to teaching._

 _Mr. Rogers offered to provide you with a list of the past recipients, but I informed him that was not necessary. I assume you are only asking because you are concerned that J & T Crate profits are being spent wisely. After all, you're a Thornton man. _

_We were at the Beachems for dinner last week, and Lady Suzanna asked about you. She's quite the lovely young lady and, I must say, anxiously looking forward to seeing you when you come home for a visit._

 _Your mother sends her best and hopes you are staying safe, as do I._

 _Best regards, Father_

Jack frowned again as he shoved the letter back into the envelope and into his desk drawer.

 _Of all the companies in Canada, why did Elizabeth have to get a scholarship from my company, a company which I have barely paid attention to since my parents started it for me and Tom when I was five years old?!_

 _She'll never be comfortable with me if she finds out._

 _She can never find out._


	3. Chapter 3 - The Dance

**Chapter 3 – The Dance**

 _Oh, she drives me crazy. How can she have any self-respect the way she flirts with Jack_ , Elizabeth thought as she looked across the street at the couple standing in front of the jail.

"Elizabeth, did you hear what I said?"

"I'm sorry, Abigail. I didn't hear you. What did you say?"

Abigail looked in the direction that Elizabeth had been staring as they walked down the dirt street towards home. "It wasn't important. I was just asking if you're excited about the Miner's dance tonight."

"Yes, I suppose", Elizabeth said.

"I suppose you would be more excited if you were being escorted by a certain Mountie", Abigail said with a smile.

"Don't be silly. Jack and I are just friends."

"Is that why you couldn't stop glaring at Suzanne just now when you saw them talking?"

"I wasn't glaring! . . . Okay, maybe just a little. But have you seen the way she's been throwing herself at Jack?!"

"He's a good looking nice young man. And you've made it clear on more than one occasion that you're not interested in a courtship with him."

"Yes, but that was before." Elizabeth grumbled.

"Before what?"

"Before I realized I may possibly want him to court me", Elizabeth said glumly.

Abigail laughed. "You'll have more than your fair share of dance partners tonight. Quite a few of the miners have shown an interest in you."

"Yes, I know," She responded. _But they're not Jack_ , Elizabeth thought as Abigail opened the door to the small house and they went inside.

* * *

Elizabeth finished buttoning her dress, a soft powder blue fabric, and took one last look in the mirror. Before Abigail had left to help set up for the dance, she had loaned Elizabeth a pretty hair comb, which Elizabeth now affixed to her hair.

For the first time since she had arrived in Coal Valley, Elizabeth was happy that she had splurged and purchased the dress. She had never worn anything so expensive and pretty, with its lace trim and tiny pearl accents. It fit her perfectly after she made some minor alterations. It was the most beautiful dress Elizabeth had ever seen.

Until she walked in the Saloon and saw Suzanne Gowen's dress.

Suzanne Gowen was across the room, standing with her uncle, wearing the most incredible gown of lace and silk that Elizabeth had ever seen.

 _She's probably just as devious as her uncle_ , Elizabeth thought bitterly as she noticed that the deep blue color of the Suzanne's dress made the woman's long blond tresses seem even blonder and more vibrant.

Elizabeth looked down at her own dress and frowned. The thin lace trim now seemed skimpy and cheap. What had seemed a beautiful soft powder blue just minutes earlier now seemed diluted and boring.

She would have kept staring enviously at Suzanne if not for the attentions of one of the miners asking Elizabeth to dance.

Elizabeth took the man's arms and her feet began tapping to the fiddler's tune. As she swirled around the room, she told herself that it didn't matter how much Suzanne flirted with Jack when the two ran into each other town, or when Suzanne found excuses to stop by the jail. It didn't matter that Suzanne's family had more money than her and that Suzanne knew more about expensive things and fancy ways. Jack was a Mountie and he had made it perfectly clear that Mounties don't marry. It was something female teachers had in common with Mounties. Elizabeth remembered their earlier conversation.

 _Mounties and marriage, two subjects that don't go together. At the academy, they told us, "if the Mounties wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one."_

For some reason, Jack's words made her feel better about Suzanne, and Elizabeth allowed herself to enjoy dance after dance, until she finally was so exhausted that she was glad when the fiddler took a break.

Elizabeth still didn't know the names of everyone in town and the Saloon was crowded with people. She was turning away from the dance floor to find Abigail, when Elizabeth bumped into someone.

"Excuse me", she said quickly before she looked up.

"You're excused", he said with a charming smile that made Elizabeth feel happy for no other reason that it was him smiling at her.

"Jack! You're here!"

"Where else would I be?", he asked curiously, but seemingly pleased by her excitement at finding him at the dance.

"I . . . I thought maybe you were busy working tonight."

"Well, I am working. But it's just here in my official capacity. Chaperoning to make sure the miners don't get too wild."

"Just one Mountie and all these miners. Do you think you can handle it, Constable?", she teased.

Jack chuckled. "You're right. I may have to have you help me. I understand you've broken up a fight or two at school."

Elizabeth beamed. _So he has been paying attention to what I've been up to_.

The next hour went by in a whirlwind as Elizabeth danced with many admiring miners. Between breaks, she found herself wandering over to Jack or Abigail, but they never managed to have a change to talk for long before someone asked Elizabeth for another dance and whisked her off to the dance floor.

Elizabeth had just managed to excuse herself from the dance floor and get a glass of iced tea from the refreshment table when she was bumped from someone passing her too closely.

"I'm so sorry", Suzanne said with syrupy voice as Elizabeth gasped. The cold liquids from both her own and Suzanne's glasses ran down her dress and quickly stained the pale fabric.

"Perhaps you should go home and change. Do you have another suitable frock? If you hurry, you may be able to come back for one last dance. . . or maybe you should just stay home", Suzanne remarked.

Elizabeth glared at the other woman. _She bumped me and spilled her drink on purpose!_

"Oh, excuse me. I see Jack." Suzanne said airily as she moved away from Elizabeth.

Elizabeth stood there in her wet dress and watched as Suzanne make her way across the room to Jack, who had his back turned and was talking to Ned Yost. Suzanne possessively took Jack's arm and said something that caused him to laugh.

"Don't you dare leave", Abigail said as she walked over and handed Elizabeth a napkin. "I saw what happened, and either she did that on purpose or she's the clumsiest woman I know."

If Elizabeth had been tempted by her damp dress to leave the dance, the infuriating site of Suzanne fawning over Jack caused her to stay. She offered to help Abigail with the refreshment table, but within a few minutes, she found herself being asked to dance by a miner.

Every so often, Elizabeth would look over her partner's shoulder and glance around the room. When she saw Jack leaning against the bar, she was rewarded with a wink and a smile from him.

When the fiddler took his second break of the night, Elizabeth was so flushed from the warmth of the room and the dancing that she again made her way to the refreshment table. Standing by the table, which was lined with pastries and drinks, she was wishing that she wasn't so nice. _I would love to accidentally drop a slice of cherry pie on Suzanne Gowen's head,_ she thought to herself. _Although it_ p _robably would not be the best example for a school teacher to set._

"I would ask you to dance, but I'm on duty", Jack said pleasantly when he approached her.

"That's okay. I think I've danced just about every dance. I'm worn out."

"I did notice you dancing quite a few dances", Jack said with raised eyebrows.

"And what is that look supposed to mean?", she retorted playfully.

"I know I'm on duty but I'd prefer not to have to break up any fights tonight between the miners arguing over which one gets to court you."

Elizabeth giggled. "I promise. There'll be no fighting over me."

"How would you like to step outside and get some fresh air?" Jacks' voice was so friendly that Elizabeth totally forgot that she had been angry with him for spending time with Suzanne.

"I'd like that. I don't think I'll even need my shawl I'm so warm from dancing."

"You look very beautiful tonight."

Elizabeth looked down at her stained dress.

"Even with a stained dress", Jack said. Something in the way he said it made her heart temporarily stop beating. His voice was so low and sincere that she believed him.

"Thank you", she said meekly, suddenly shy as they walked outside. _How does he do this to me. There are two dozen men in the saloon and I can handle every one of them flirting with me without skipping beat, and yet Jack says one nice thing, and I feel like a scared bunny rabbit._

Elizabeth leaned against the building and relaxed, taking in a deep breath of the cool night air and remembering that Jack was just her friend. Without any awkwardness between them, Jack leaned against the wall next to her. They spent the next 20 minutes talking while the dancing and fiddle playing went on inside.

"I swear. It's true. It was Ms. Nancy's dance class and I was 11 years old. My elbow went right into Mary Edner's nose and the blood went everywhere. She never forgave me. Of course, that was after I had already given Alice Rodgers a black eye the week before."

"That _is_ worse than my setting the barn on fire during the barn dance!" Elizabeth responded humorously.

The two were laughing when a man's voice interrupted them.

"Constable Thornton?"

"Yes, Tom. What is it?" Jack stood up straight away from the wall.

"The dance is over."

"Over?!", Jack looked startled.

"Yes. Everyone's left."

A surprised Elizabeth and Jack walked over to the door and looked in the Saloon. It was empty.

"Well, I'll be", Jack said in an amazed voice. "They must have walked right past us when we were talking and we didn't even notice."

"Miss Thatcher, I may have to arrest you for interfering with official Mountie business. I believe I was supposed to be chaperoning that dance before you enthralled me with your stories of burning down a barn and giving young Tommy Matters a broken foot.

Elizabeth smiled at Jack. "Well, Constable Thornton, I'm not sure how good a Mountie you're going to be if a simple country school teacher can distract you from your job."

"Good point. How about I walk you home instead of arresting you?"

Elizabeth retrieved her shawl from the empty saloon before taking Jack's arm and beginning the walk home. For once, Elizabeth was glad that Abigail's home was one of the farthest from the saloon. In fact, she would have liked it if it were miles away and they could walk all night together.

"I'm sorry you had to chaperone the dance."

"I didn't mind. I still had a nice time."

"But you didn't get to dance at all. And I'm sure you're better than you were when you were 11."

Jack laughed. "I am. But I've been to plenty of dances. In fact, I've been to so many debutante balls and coming-out to society parties that I usually go through at least two pairs of shoes a season", he remarked good-naturedly.

Elizabeth was quiet. _How stupid I am. He must think our town dance was pathetic compared to the fancy dances he's been to_.

"Thank you for walking me home, Jack."

"You're welcome. And Elizabeth, I think this was the nicest dance I have ever been to."

As she closed the door, Elizabeth was glad that it was dark outside so Jack couldn't see her blushing. She told herself that she was being silly. That he wasn't flirting with her. They were just friends. _But I've never had a friend make me feel so anxious when he says my name,_ she sighed _._

"You are anything but a simple country school teacher", Jack said as he stared at the closed door for a moment before turning and walking away.


	4. Chapter 4- Spelling is everything

**Chapter 4 – Spelling is everything when jumping to conclusions**

Elizabeth walked around the room looking over her students' shoulders as they wrote down the week's vocabulary words before they rushed out the door at the end of the day.

"Students, remember to take your time when reading and writing. If you rush through words, you'll make mistakes. There's no hurry when reading. It's what you read that's important, not how fast you do it."

As Elizabeth walked outside after the last of the students had left, she thought about the weather. It was the perfect day to go for a walk. Stopping by the house to pick up a basket, she decided to see if she could find some ripe wild blackberries. Perhaps if she found enough, she could convince Abigail to make a pie.

* * *

Her small basket was almost full of berries when Elizabeth heard the high pitch sound of a female giggling. Leaning over the bushes, she saw Jack and Suzanne Gowen walking not more than 10 yards away. Elizabeth grimaced as a stray curl caught on some thorns when she tried to stand up straight.

"Elizabeth!", Jack said in a startled voice when he saw her.

"Hello", Elizabeth replied. She was suddenly aware of how she must look. Her hair was disheveled. Her face was moist from perspiration. Her dress was wrinkled and had a small berry stain on one sleeve.

"What are you doing out here?"

Suzanne laughed. "From the looks of her, she's been traipsing through the wildness looking for berries."

"Any luck?", Jack asked.

"Well, you don't need too much luck around here. Just good eyesight. There are berries everywhere." Elizabeth replied.

"Enjoy your walk", she added.

"You enjoy your berries", Jack said as he moved to walk away.

"Thank you, I will", Elizabeth said with a smile plastered to her face.

 _Oh, I hate that Suzanne Gowen_!, she thought as she saw Suzanne look over her shoulder and give Elizabeth a smug grin.

Elizabeth hadn't forgotten the conversation she had overhead earlier in the week. She had been in the mercantile buying some flour and other ingredients for Abigail. Suzanne and Joyce Martin had come in the store to browse through the Sears Catalogue. Neither of the two women noticed Elizabeth as they giggled and talked about the latest fashions.

"What do you think Jack would say if he saw me in this?", Suzanne had asked.

"Suzanne, that's scandalous!", Joyce exclaimed.

"Not if we're married", Suzanne said smugly.

"You don't want to be married to a Mountie, no matter how handsome he is."

"He won't be a Mountie forever. Once I've convinced him that he wants to be married to me, it won't take much to convince him that he doesn't want to be a Mountie. And before you know it, I'll be in a mansion in Hamilton and he'll be running his family business. "

Thinking of the conversation, Elizabeth angrily tugged on some berries and dropped them into her basket, wincing as a thorn poked her.

She was going to have to have a talk with Jack this evening, she decided.

* * *

Elizabeth paced back and forth in front of the jail as she watched Jack approach. _We're friends. He needs to know what she's like. I'm just doing a good deed for a friend,_ she told tried to convince herself that she was just doing what any good platonic friend would do.

"Elizabeth, are you waiting for me?", Jack asked as he crossed the street.

"Yes. If you have time."

"I always have time for you", he said.

"Glad to see you got back safe and sound from your walk", she said with a weak smile.

"Suzanne's not exactly a dangerous animal and Coal Valley's not the Amazon rainforest. Don't forget, I'm a Mountie, even if I am a city boy." He grinned.

"I don't think you really know who Suzanne Gowen is."

"What's that supposed to mean?", Jack as curiously.

"Look, I had my suspicions about whether she's as sweet and innocent as she makes you think she is, and she isn't!"

"Based on what evidence?"

"I'm not ready to say, But I just want you to be cautious . . . with your feelings."

"Cautious with my feelings? What are you talking about, Elizabeth"?

"Well, she flatters you a lot, and that can go to a man's head."

"You think I can be swayed by flattery?"

"I'm just saying she knows how to get a man's attention and make him feel good about himself."

"So now you think I need a woman's attention to feel good about myself."

"No, that's not what I meant. I just meant that well.. . .just be careful around her." Elizabeth fumbled over her words, nervous at how poorly this conversation was going.

"I can make my own judgments when a woman shows some interest in me. I appreciate your concern, but I already have a mother".

"I'm not trying to be your mother! I'm just trying to be a friend!"

"Elizabeth, are you jealous?" Jack asked, suddenly more interested in this conversation.

"Jealous? I don't have to be jealous to be concerned." Elizabeth felt her cheeks becoming flushed.

"Concerned? So that's what they're calling it these days.", Jack said with a smile.

"I am just concerned. But obviously it's none of my business!", Elizabeth said hotly.

"So if I didn't like all the miners fawning over you at the dance, I would be 'concerned' – that's the word for it?", Jack asked.

"Yes, that's correct. You would merely be concerned", Elizabeth replied, suddenly feeling even more flustered.

"Thank you for explaining my emotions to me, Miss Thatcher. I have to go handle some matters now", Jack said as he tipped his hat and walked in the door.

 _So he is jealous of the miners I was dancing with_! , she thought as she walked away and a smile formed on her face.

 _Or maybe he thinks I'm being forward and meddling where I don't belong_ , she thought. Her smiled disappeared.

 _Perhaps he thinks I just a catty woman who is envious of other women_ , she thought as she now frowned.

" _Oh no! Perhaps he thinks I don't want him to care for me! Why did I tell him that he was only 'concerned' for me?!_

* * *

The next morning, Jack sat in his chair at the jail. The blank piece of paper lay on the desk in front of him. He drummed his pencil on the desktop.

He thought about what he should write, trying to find the right words to express his feelings. He exhaled, put his pencil to the paper, and began to write.

 _Dear Suzanna, I wish I could put my arms around you,_ he began.

Just then Rip whined to be let out.

 _Just as well, I don't know how to write this,_ Jack thought as he let Rip out the back door. Standing outside, Jack decided he might as well chop another log for the wood stove.

As Jack heaved his ax behind the jail, Elizabeth walked in the front door. She was disappointed that Jack wasn't there. She hoped he would accept a blueberry scone as an apology for her earlier actions of meddling. Deciding to leave him the scone and a note, she approached his desk.

The paper was there. His letter which he had just begun. Elizabeth's eyes glanced at it. _Dear Suzanna, I wish I could put my arms around you_

Elizabeth's heart plummeted. _A love note! He's writing that witch a love note!_

It was at this point that Elizabeth should have followed her own advice. If she had remembered not to rush when reading, she wouldn't have made a grave mistake. If she had paid better attention to the few words on the page, she would have realized that Suzanne Gowen didn't spell her first name the same way as Lady Suzanna Beachem.

Instead, Elizabeth hurried out of the jail, her anger rising that Jack had seemed to flirt with her when he was obviously interested in that awful Gowen woman. Angry that Jack could be so stupid as to fall for that woman's feminine wiles. Angry at herself that she cared so much. _How could I be so stupid to think I could compete with a woman who is more close to his social station?_ Angry that her heart felt like it was starting to break.

When Jack came back inside, there was no evidence that Elizabeth had been in the room, and he was none the wiser. He returned to his chair, picked up the pencil, and finished writing his letter.

 _Dear Suzanna, I wish I could put my arms around you and comfort you in your time of loss. We have been friends for so long that I feel odd that I am not there for your family. I received Tom's telegram this morning. I am so sorry to hear of John's death. I know he was sick for a long time, but it must still be so hard for all of you right now. Your brother was always such fun to be around. I still remember last summer when he had Tom, Steve, and me carry him around the yacht club, terribly exaggerating his weak heart, to get the girls' attention and sympathetic affections. We had such a laugh as he charmed more girls than any of us and made more than one lady decide she wanted to be a nurse! He will be sorely missed. Please tell your family that I am thinking of all of you._

 _Your friend always, Jack._

* * *

Jack almost bumped into Elizabeth as he left the mercantile after posting his letter.

"Elizabeth", he said, always happy to see her, even after their last conversation.

"Constable Thornton", she replied stiffly.

"So, we're back to Constable Thornton instead of Jack", he said good-naturedly, expecting to see her smile at him.

"If you'll excuse me, Constable, I have things to do."

Jack gently grabbed her arm as she moved past him. "Elizabeth is everything alright? Did I do something to offend you?", he said with concern in his voice.

"You're not upset about our conversation yesterday are you?", he added.

"Of course not. Your affairs are none of my business. Have a good day", she replied, hurrying away before Jack noticed her eyes welling up _. Why am I such a ninny!_ she thought, as she hurried into the mercantile.

Jack stood there wondering what he had done wrong. Elizabeth was one of the few people in this town with whom he felt comfortable, and he thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her. He had already realized that he enjoyed it more than he probably should, given his job as a Mountie and her job as a school teacher. He certainly enjoyed her company much more than that of the pesky Suzanne Gowen who kept turning up wherever he went.

He was about to go after Elizabeth when Suzanne called out to him from across the street.

Jack didn't see Elizabeth watching him from the mercantile window as Suzanne hurried over to talk to him. He certainly didn't know what Elizabeth was thinking.

 _I am never being friendly with him again. He's nothing but the town constable and unless I have a need for the town constable, there's no reason for me to talk to him. I came here to teach, not to fall under the spell of a Mountie_ .

She tried not to think about what a handsome nice Mountie he was and how much she'd like to be under his spell.

* * *

Elizabeth had no contact with Jack over the next two days. He was busy with his duties, and she kept busy with her teaching.

On the rare occasion that she saw him in the street, she quickly turned away before he could approach her.

Jack hoped he would see Elizabeth at the saloon before school started each day, and although he would deny it even to himself, he moved a little slower than usual before he finally had to leave to go on his rounds.

On the morning of the third day of "Operation Avoid Jack", as Elizabeth had started to call it, she wondered if she was being silly.

"Elizabeth, you'd better hurry. You'll be late for school. That's three days in a row, you've been slower than usual", Abigail said to Elizabeth in surprise when she noticed the time.

"Yes, I'm leaving right now", Elizabeth replied as she set down her coffee cup and reached for her books.

 _I'll have to see him sometime. I can be cordial to him. He probably doesn't even realize that we haven't spoken in days. It's not as if we were courting or he led me on,_ she thought as she walked to the saloon. She started to quicken her pace, now hoping to see him before he left the saloon for his morning rounds.

It was too late. He had already left. She sighed when she saw him off in the distance heading into the livery. She realized what a fool she had been to be rude to him. _He has every right to court someone else. I've made it perfectly clear that I'll never marry._

That afternoon, after dismissing the students, Elizabeth decided the best action was to take a long walk to clear her thoughts.

The warm sun felt wonderful on her face and she decided not to bother with a hat as she walked towards the pond. The whizzing sound of two dragonflies kept her company as the flying insects hovered about her, seemingly following Elizabeth as she walked through the tall grasses interspersed with wildflowers.

As much as she had wanted to live in the city, Elizabeth couldn't deny that she loved the beauty of the wilderness.

As she got closer to the pond, she saw him. Even though she couldn't make out his facial features from a distance, she knew it was him. No one else in town wore that color red. He was just sitting there, staring in the distance. She knew that wasn't like him. He should still be on his rounds, or at the jail handling paperwork, or even walking through the town talking to the townspeople.

"Hello, Jack. Mind if I join you", she asked as she approached him.

"Elizabeth. Hello. Please." Jack looked up startled and then motioned for her to sit down on the grass with him.

"Is everything okay?" Elizabeth asked after she had arranged her skirt to sit in some semblance of a lady.

"I'm just thinking."

The two sat quietly for a moment, looking out at the pond.

Finally, Jack spoke. "How have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm fine. Just busy with school."

Jack didn't say any more. Instead, he plucked some blades of grass. He looked at them absent-mindedly before tossing them aside.

"Jack, what's wrong?" Elizabeth finally asked sensing that something important was bothering him.

"A family friend died. A really good guy. He was sick for a long time, so I shouldn't have been surprised. But still -."

"I'm so sorry, Jack. You couldn't go back for the funeral, could you?"

"No. It's too far, and I don't have the leave to take. I wrote a letter to his sister."

"Was he a very close friend?"

"Both he and his sister have been my friends since we were little. He was a year younger than me. John and I were at school together and were on the rowing team until his heart was too weak. His sister, Suzanna, is my age. I was Suzanna's escort for her debut, and whenever I had to attend a boring society function, I could always count on her to make it bearable. They're a good family."

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip when she heard the name Suzanna and Jack's statement that he had written her a letter. Her face reddened as she realized she had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

"I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear all this", Jack said, mistaking Elizabeth's silence for indifference.

"I don't mind. We're friends."

"Are we?", he looked at her questioningly.

"Of course."

"Because lately I've gotten the feeling that you haven't wanted to have anything to do with me."

"I'm sorry. It wasn't your fault. I was just . . I had stuff going on that's all", she responded.

"If you were upset over that conversation we had, I just want you to know that I realize more now than ever that life is too short for us to hold onto petty grievances"

"I agree wholeheartedly", Elizabeth said earnestly.

"Good. I want you to know that if you ever need anything... even if you have the smallest care in the world... you can count on me. Knock on my door day or night. I know we've only know each other a short time, but I consider you a good friend. . . . I value our friendship."

His voice was so sincere that it made Elizabeth's heart beat a little faster with joy.

"Thank you, Jack. So do I."

"I noticed you've been upset. Did some miner break your heart? Because if he did, I'll arrest him."

Elizabeth laughed.

"No need to arrest anyone. I think my heart is safe from any miners."

"Good."

They sat by the pond, in the tall grass, eventually even Jack was laughing as he told her stories about his life in Hamilton. The grumbling of Elizabeth's stomach reminded them of how late it was getting.

"So you would really arrest someone if he broke my heart", she teased, fishing for a compliment, as they walked back to town.

"Of course, it's a very serious crime to break the heart of a lady, especially one as lovely as you. It's worse than armed bank robber and just below murder", he said with a straight face, although he had twinkle in his eye.

Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh.

"I also have my own selfish reason for wanting to keep your heart protected", he added.

Elizabeth started to get that feeling again. That feeling she got when, in her mind, Jack changed from her friend to someone she wanted to be more than a friend.

"You're the only teacher in Coal Valley. If I don't protect you, your students will form an angry mob and attack me."

"Attack you . .. with what ? chalk?", she laughed.

"Never underestimate a piece of chalk to the eye. Why, it could be blinding. And lunch pails? The headache they could give me", he said, exaggerating the danger.

Elizabeth smiled.

"I've missed talking to you, Jack", she said honestly.

"Me too. Let's make sure it doesn't happen again."

"And if it does?", she asked with raised eyebrows and a grin.

"Well, then I'll have to arrest you for breaking this poor Mountie's heart", he said with a grin of his own.

Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. Maybe it was just her imagination but something in his voice made it sound like he wasn't joking about his heart breaking.


	5. Chapter 5 -Sewing

**Chapter 5 - Sewing**

Elizabeth sighed in exasperation as she bent down to pick up the needle she had dropped on the floor. When she had taken the teaching job in Coal Valley, she had thought her days of sewing were done. She had sewn so much growing up to earn money for the family that she never wanted to sew again, except for the occasional simple dress alterations to her wardrobe. Now, she was sitting at the table surrounded by a pile of fabric, buttons, spools of thread, and the list of costumes needed for the Founders' Day Play.

 _I wish I didn't know how to sew. Then I could have asked someone else do this. I can't imagine ever enjoying sewing again,_ Elizabeth thought as she crossed another name off the list.

Elizabeth was about put away the rest of the sewing for the night when she heard a quiet knock on the front door.

"Jack! What are you doing here so late?", she asked in surprise when she opened the door and saw him standing there.

"Remember how I told you that you could knock on my door, day or night? Well, I'm hoping I can do the same to you. I need a favor."

"Jack, why are you carrying a bottle of whiskey? I don't drink", Elizabeth said in confusion.

"That's for me. Can I come in?"

Just then, Elizabeth realized that Jack had been holding his hand on his arm. Something that looked decidedly like blood was seeping through his fingers.

"Oh my goodness. Jack you're bleeding! Get in here! What happened?"

Elizabeth grabbed Jack by the uninjured arm and gently pulled him inside. She escorted him over to the table, and moved him into a chair.

"I broke up a bar fight and got sliced with a bottle. I could stitch it up myself but unfortunately I'm right handed and it's my right arm. I could still do it but it wouldn't be very pretty. The doctor's out of town. I was hoping that if you or Abigail were awake, you could help. "

"Abigail's still at the Café getting the place fixed up. But I can do it. Pull up your sleeve and let me see it."

Jack set the bottle down on the table, and began fumbling with the button on his shirt cuff.

"Let me do it", Elizabeth instructed as she reached for his sleeve and unbuttoned it. Gingerly, she rolled up his sleeve until the wound was fully exposed.

She gulped a little.

"It's not so bad", Jack said encouragingly.

Elizabeth decided to let Jack think she had been stunned by the sight of the wound. There was no need for him to know that it was sight of his gorgeous muscular arm that had caused her reaction.

"Is the whiskey for drinking or cleaning the wound?", she asked with a smile as she sat down at the table.

"Maybe a little bit of both. Depending on how good you are at sewing. Be gentle."

Elizabeth laughed. "I'll be gentle. I'm very good at sewing. My fabrics have never once screamed in pain."

"Well, that's a resounding endorsement", he replied with smile.

"I think a whipstitch will do", Jack said as he watched her thread the needle.

"Where did you learn that?", she asked in surprise.

"I've sewn before."

"Where?

"Close to the bone"

Jack moved his leg out from under the table and with his left hand pulled up his pants leg, exposing his knee.

"What? My goodness. What happened?"

"It was nothing. Although the bear is still talking about it", he replied with a grin.

Elizabeth laughed when she saw the twinkle in Jack's eyes.

"Well, if you don't mind, I'll make these stitches a little prettier than those. I can even use a pretty color thread if you'd like?", she teased.

"The one you have is just fine. Sew away," Jack said as he watched her pour whiskey over the needle to sterilize it.

As Elizabeth wiped away some of the blood with a wet cloth so she could better see the wound, she encouraged Jack to take a sip or two from the whiskey bottle.

He took a slug before handing her the bottle and motioning for her to pour some of the alcohol on the wound. Jack gritted his teeth as the liquid stung his already hurting arm.

They both were quiet as Elizabeth began to sew together, as gently as possible, the two sides of Jack's skin slashed by the broken beer bottle.

With her eyes concentrating on the wound, Elizabeth was unaware of Jack concentrating on her. She assumed he was quiet because he was trying not to wince in pain. If she could have read his thoughts, she would have known that he was thinking about how pretty her hair looked in the lantern's glow.

"Were you hurt anywhere else?", she asked, looking up at him when she finished the stitches.

"No, just the arm. I locked up both miners. Good thing I have two cells."

Elizabeth grew quiet as she took some clean fabric, tore off a strip, and began winding it around Jack's arm.

"Were you scared?", she finally asked.

"Nah, it all happened so fast and it's what I'm trained for."

"But you're not even wearing your uniform. You weren't on duty, were you?"

Jack got the feeling that Elizabeth didn't like thinking about the dangers of his job, so he quickly changed the topic.

"How's the Founders' Day play coming along?"

"Ooh, I didn't tell you. Someone surprised me with a backdrop. It's so nice", she said excitedly.

Jack tried to hide his smile as Elizabeth described in detail the backdrop to him.

" .. . . and then I have to have all the students memorize their lines. It's a lot of work", she said as finished spending 20 minutes talking with him about the play and her students.

"Well then, I'll leave you for the night. It's getting late", Jack said as he motioned to the clock on the side table.

"Oh my goodness. I didn't realize the time", Elizabeth exclaimed.

 _How is it that I always lose track of time when I'm with Jack?_ , she wondered to herself as she walked Jack to the door. She stood on the porch and watched him walk away in the dark.

"Jack! ", she called after him.

Jack walked back the few paces to the small house. Elizabeth was standing in the doorway, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the light from inside. He looked up at her from the bottom of the steps.

 _Gosh, she's pretty_ , he thought as he waited for her to say something.

"Please be careful", she said. The sincerity and worry were evident in her voice.

"Walking home?", he asked in a confused voice.

"Always."

"I'm glad to see you be so concerned for your constable"

"I'm concerned for my constable, and for the man who wears the constable's uniform, she replied as she looked in his eyes.

"I will. Now get back inside and lock up for the night", he responded with a smile. He tipped his hat to her and watched as she went inside.

Elizabeth closed the door behind her and gathered up her sewing supplies.

 _I'm so glad I know how to sew_ , she thought as she remembered how close their bodies had been when she stitched his arm. How handsome he was. How much she enjoyed touching his arm.

Even though she realized that she was being selfish, Elizabeth was glad it was his right arm he had injured and that he was right handed. _Otherwise, he wouldn't have needed my help._

As Jack walked away, he had a smile on his face. _There's no reason she has to know that I'm ambidextrous._


	6. Chapter 6 - Charity

**Dear Readers, as you've figured out by now, I like taking the dialogue from the T.V. show and changing it up a bit! Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Chapter 6 – Charity**

Two days later, the weather was beautiful as Jack carried a wicker basket under one arm and a blanket under the other. Elizabeth had pestered him that he shouldn't be carrying anything with an injured arm, but Jack assured her that he was more than capable of carrying a basket of sandwiches, drinks, and a light blanket.

"Thank you for joining me for this picnic, Elizabeth. I hope it doesn't make you uncomfortable."

"A free lunch never makes me uncomfortable", she responded teasingly.

"I just thought it's the least I could do to show my gratitude for that little incident with the beer bottle?"

"You mean the little incident where I saved your life?"

Jack laughed. "I wouldn't say you saved my life."

"I kept you from bleeding to death"

"Miss Thatcher, for a school teacher, I think you would have a better grasp of the word 'exaggeration'. But I do appreciate you stitching my arm so I didn't bleed all over everything", he said humorously.

"How is it doing?", Elizabeth asked, slightly worried, as she glanced to his arm.

"It's fine", Jack assured her.

"I'm just having a little trouble explaining to people why it's sewn with bright orange thread", he added with a smile.

Elizabeth laughed.

"That was the orange thread for the fire costume. The fire that coal burns . . . for the play!", Elizabeth explained to Jack good naturedly.

Jack reached into the basket, which Abigail had prepared, and handed Elizabeth a sandwich.

"I know you've been really busy with the play. I was hoping that when it's finished . . . . well, I was hoping you'd have time to join me for another meal", he added as he handed her a napkin.

"Another meal?"

"I would like to invite you to join me for supper this Saturday night. I want to be perfectly clear that my invitation does not require you to cook and it would be more than a simple meal of sandwiches."

"I appreciate your lovely invitation, and I accept."

"You don't have to consider this the beginning of a courtship, . . .if you don't want", Jack added hesitantly.

"You've made it very clear that female teachers do not have husbands. If they wanted you to have a husband, they wouldn't have made it against the regulations", he added hurriedly in case she was embarrassed by his request for supper.

"Did I say that?"

"Several times."

"That does sound like something I'd say. But I seem to remember you saying, on several occasions, that Mounties don't marry. If they wanted you to have a wife, they would have issued you one."

"Did I ever tell you that sometimes I say really stupid things?", Jack asked with a grin.

Elizabeth laughed.

"If you don't mind, I would like to consider this an act of courtship", she said with a shy smile as she averted her eyes by looking at the sandwich Jack had handed her.

Jack smiled broadly as he reached into the picnic basket and handed Elizabeth a flask filled with lemonade.

* * *

Saturday night arrived just as she knew it would, but Elizabeth could barely contain her nerves. Ever since Jack had asked her to supper, she had been torn between hoping that Saturday wouldn't come and hoping it would come sooner. She was petrified that Jack would decide over supper that he didn't want to court her after all, and even more petrified that he would decide that he did.

Elizabeth had certainly had admirers growing up, not as many as her sister, Julie, but she had some. But they had been simple country boys. More friends than anything else. Boys that had never made her insides feel all jumbly like Jack did. Boys that didn't make her worry if she would be a good kisser.

Elizabeth needn't have worried about Jack deciding he didn't want to court her. He took one look at her when he arrived at her door and decided he should have asked her to supper weeks ago. By the time dessert was served, he had decided she was the most wonderful girl he had ever met. And when they danced slowly to the phonograph playing the waltz, he wondered if he would scare her off if he asked her if she had ever considered being married to a Mountie. There was no question about it. Jack Thornton was smitten with Elizabeth Thatcher.

* * *

Elizabeth spent all of Sunday with a smile on her face. She smiled when she woke up. She smiled at breakfast. She smiled in church, even when it probably was not appropriate during the sermon. She smiled when she graded the students' papers even when she gave them failing grades. Elizabeth could not stop smiling over how wonderful her evening with Jack had been. It had been the most enchanting evening of her life. There was no question about it. Elizabeth Thatcher was smitten with Jack Thornton.

Elizabeth scanned the list of vocabulary words she had written for this week. Affection. Cherish. Hopeful. Appreciate. _It's a good thing that Jack decided to go on rounds after church, or I'd want to be spending time with him and never get my school work done!_

She was adding 'Apprize' to the list, when her pencil broke.

 _Well, it's a good time to take a break and go for a walk_ , she thought.

Elizabeth waited patiently behind Mrs. Blakely at the mercantile counter while Ned Yost rung up the other woman's order.

When it was her turn, Elizabeth placed her items on the counter and opened up her small coin purse. She had splurged and decided to also get a small box of chocolates to eat the next time she was reading a good book. With a smile, she realized it wasn't so much a splurge any more. She could afford it. It felt so nice to have a steady good income. She had done it! She had come from a poor upbringing after her father died, and made something of herself! And she had done it through hard work and determination.

"Here's a letter for you, Miss Thatcher", Ned said as he put her money in the till and handed her an envelope. As Elizabeth left the mercantile, she recognized the handwriting on the envelope. It was from Julie. Julie had always been the wilder of the sisters and Elizabeth was wondering what interesting news this letter would bring.

"Miss Thatcher!", Ned yelled after her, causing Elizabeth to stop opening the envelope and turn back.

"Would you mind bringing the constable his mail? I'd like to close up soon and I know he doesn't get back from his rounds for a bit. If you don't mind?"

"I don't mind at all."

She smiled when she realized that the whole town knew how close she and Jack had become. They had been spending a lot of time together, and she had a sneaky suspicion that Jack had been the one to paint the small portrayal of the two of them embracing in the mural. At least she hoped he had.

She wasn't planning on seeing Jack until after school tomorrow, so she decided to drop off his mail at the jail on her way back home.

Elizabeth opened Julie's envelope and pulled out the sheets of paper as she walked. She was engrossed in reading Julie's paragraph about her latest escapades with the blacksmith's son, when the ball hit her in the back of the leg, catching Elizabeth off guard and causing her to fall.

"Sorry, Miss Thatcher", the students yelled as they ran down the street towards her.

"It's okay. I'm fine."

As the boys grabbed their ball and went back to playing, Elizabeth gathered up Jack's mail which was scattered around her.

 _My, he certainly gets a lot of mail_ , she thought as she quickly picked up the letters before they got trampled in the street. Her eyes casually glanced over his mail and the return addresses in the upper left hand corner of the envelopes.

 _Mr. & Mrs. Thornton . . . Tom Thornton . . . Royal Northwest Mounties . . . . J & T Crates. . . . A catalogue on saddles and riding gear._

 _That's so nice that his family writes him so often._

 _J & T Crates?, s_he thought as she continued to walk down the street.

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks.

 _J & T Crates? J&T Crates! That's the company that gave me a scholarship! Why is Jack getting mail from it?_

She sighed and started walking again after thinking for a moment. _They must be checking on my progress. Of course. That's it. The scholarship required me to be dedicated to teaching and an upstanding citizen. I suppose the company contacts all the constables where new teachers are placed to ensure they haven't gotten into trouble and are maintaining good moral standards. They probably check periodically._

Elizabeth put the mail on Jack's desk without giving another thought to the letter. After all, she always maintained good moral standards and a dedication to teaching.

* * *

It was almost a week before Jack and Elizabeth were able to spend more than five minutes together. All week, Elizabeth had been tutoring Bo Grady after school, and Jack had been busy with his rounds. Finally, Saturday had arrived and Jack had invited Elizabeth for a walk.

As Elizabeth took in the surrounding beauty of the valley, she breathed in the fresh air.

"I can see why you wanted to bring a camera. This is an amazing view", she said, as she watched Jack set up his camera.

"Yes, it is. They issued one of these for an investigation tool, but I haven't really had much chance to use it here in Coal Valley. Till now", he responded as he pushed the button to take her photograph, catching her off guard.

"That's not fair. Why don't we take one of the both of us?", she asked happily.

"Okay. Come here. Smile."

Jack put his arm around Elizabeth and held her close. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched as she brushed a windblown curl from her face. He found himself wishing it was his fingers that had taken the curl and tucked it behind her delicate ear. He wondered what it would be like to run his hands gently through her hair.

"I haven't stopped since our supper", she admitted honestly about her smiling. Jack's face broke out in a grin at her comment.

"Being up here reminds me of why I love being a Mountie. Working in the outdoors, feeling the sun, seeing the wildlife", Jack said as he took Elizabeth's hand and they walked to the edge of the hilltop, looking down at the town and the fields.

Standing next to Jack, Elizabeth sighed in pleasure. "What else could you possibly want to do on a beautiful day like today?"

"Kiss the pretty girl I'm with", Jack said, turning to look at her.

All of a sudden, Elizabeth felt nervous. This was the moment she had been hoping for., and yet now she felt like a scared bunny rabbit. She blushed and looked down.

"What would J and T Crates say about that ?", she teased, thinking of the scholarship requirements that she be upstanding citizen.

Elizabeth was surprised when she felt Jack's hand suddenly tense. Looking up at him, she was even more surprised by the shocked look on his face.

"Jack, I'm just teasing. I saw the letter you got. Well, not the letter but the envelope. I assume they are writing to check on my progress. I wasn't being nosy, Jack. I was just dropping off your mail."

"Jack, what is it?", Elizabeth asked, puzzled by his expression.

When he didn't say anything but looked away, Elizabeth took his other hand in hers.

"Jack, it's okay. I don't think I'll get fired for kissing a Mountie. Seriously, you don't need to report that. You can kiss me", she laughed.

"There's something I haven't told you . . .", Jack began. He took a deep breath before continuing.

Elizabeth was puzzled as she stood there waiting for Jack to speak again.

"I own J & T Crates", he slowly admitted.

"Don't be silly", Elizabeth said dismissively.

"Jack and Tom Crates, Elizabeth. J & T stands for Jack and Tom. . . Me and my brother. It's one of the family companies", Jack said.

Elizabeth stared at Jack wide-eyed.

" _No. No. No!",_ she thought desperately.

For years she had worked hard to achieve something. To be independent. She was not one of those women who needed a husband to support her. She would not be indebted to any man.

 _I will not be Jack's charity case_ , she thought in despair as she let go of his hands.


	7. Chapter 7 - Reap what you Sow

**Chapter 7 – Reap with you Sow. Sew what you Rip**

Elizabeth angrily crumpled last week's vocabulary list and threw it in the wastebasket. She took the new week's list off her desk and began writing the words on the chalkboard before the students arrived at the saloon for the day's lessons.

"That's an interesting lesson." Jack remarked as he approached her. His tone was somewhere between frustrated and apologetic.

"And valuable. Excuse me, I missed one." Elizabeth said haughtily as she wrote her last word on the board.

"Perfidy? I don't even want to know what that one is."

"No, you don't. And school is about to begin, so... "

"So I'll speak fast. Elizabeth, the company is mine. It's been mine since I was a little boy. You know I come from money. I didn't know about your scholarship until you told me. My mother handles scholarships, not me. Now my father thinks I am suddenly interested in the business because I asked about scholarships after you mentioned yours. He's been sending me information on the company's financial status. I've never had anything to do with the company before. That's not how I live my life. "

"You've known about my scholarship for weeks."

"Yes", he admitted glumly.

"Yet in all our conversations, you failed to mention your company even once", she said coldly.

"I should have told you. . . . I guess I just didn't want to bring up money and make you feel awkward."

"I just can't help but think what else you haven't told me," Elizabeth said.

"Well, aren't there things in your life that you haven't told me?", Jack inquired.

"I'm certain my life is far less dramatic. I'm a simple country school teacher for goodness sakes."

"Elizabeth... I know you've lost some faith in me. But I hope, over time, you're going to see that my heart is true."

Jack's voice was so sincere that Elizabeth felt a little of her frosty attitude melting. Perhaps it would have melted more if they had more time, but the sound of young voices announced the arrival of her students. Their presence reminded Elizabeth that she was indebted to Jack's crate company for her role as a teacher.

"Good morning, children," she called out plastering a fake smile on her face.

"Perfidy?" , Jack said quietly to her.

"Look it up.", she said coldly.

* * *

Elizabeth pushed back her shoulders, stood up tall, and opened the door to the jail.

"Elizabeth!", Jack said in a startled voice. As pleased as he was to see her, he had to admit he was very surprised by her presence.

"Jack", she greeted him awkwardly.

"I'm glad you're here", he said, hoping her presence meant she had forgiven him.

"This is for you", she said stiffly as she handed him a dollar bill.

Jack looked at it curiously. "I don't understand." He wrinkled his brow in confusion as he looked from the dollar to her.

"I can pay you a dollar a week. I intend to pay your company back for the scholarship."

"Elizabeth! Don't be foolish"

"So, now I'm foolish?!", she said angrily.

"Elizabeth, that money was a scholarship. You don't have to repay it."

"I do. I am not your mother's charity case."

"Technically it's my company, so you'd be my charity case." The words came out of Jack's mouth before he had a chance to think of what he was saying. One look at Elizabeth's face, and he wished he could take the words and shove them back down his throat.

"I am not your charity case!", Elizabeth yelled.

Jack stood there silently. He was afraid that whatever he said it would be the wrong thing. Jack had always been able to handle himself confidently around women, but something about Elizabeth gave her the ability to make him feel slightly unsettled.

After an awkward moment, Elizabeth took a deep breath and opened up a ledger she was holding.

"I'm keeping an accounting of how much I repay you. I've already written down $1 next to today's date. If you could please sign next to the entry to signify that you received the money, that would be satisfactory," Elizabeth said stiffly.

"Elizabeth, please. I don't want your money", Jack said kindly.

Elizabeth remained businesslike and handed Jack the pencil.

"I want to court you," Jack appealed to her. He took the opportunity to place his hand on hers as she held the pencil.

When Elizabeth looked at him coldly, Jack sadly took the pencil and signed the ledger. He couldn't help but feel despair when he saw the single entry of $1 and the long blank lines after it.

"We are not courting until I pay off my debt to your company", Elizabeth said adamantly as she took back the ledger, turned, and walked out of the jail.

 _At a dollar a week, it will be more than a year before we can court,_ Jack thought in exasperation. He didn't even know if either one of them would still be in Coal Valley by then.

* * *

Elizabeth was cleaning up the last of the supper dishes, when she heard the knock on the front door.

"I'll get it", she told Abigail, who looked up from her ironing board.

"Jack." Elizabeth greeted him begrudgingly. She crossed her arms, indicating that she was still not happy with him.

"May I come in for a minute?", Jack asked pleasantly as he removed his hat.

Elizabeth huffed in exasperation but moved out of the doorway to allow him to enter.

"I came to pay my debt. I believe I owe you $2.50 for your nursing services the other night. I checked with the town doctor and he told me his prices. I added extra because it was after office hours."

Elizabeth stood there flabbergasted.

"I am not taking money for stitching you up. That was a favor for a friend!", she finally exclaimed.

"So we are friends", Jack said hopefully.

Elizabeth glared at him.

"So we're not friends. Fine. I will not be indebted to you. This money is rightly yours. If you refuse to accept the cash, I will have to insist that you take $2.50 off your debt to me. If you bring me your ledger, we can handle it that way if you prefer," Jack said in a congenial yet business-like voice.

"Fine!" said Elizabeth in an exasperated voice.

Despite Jack's business-like attitude, Abigail was sure he was secretly enjoying himself. She was pretty certain that she saw a twinkle in his eye when Elizabeth went to go get the ledger. Abigail tried to hide her snicker as she watched the young couple.

After Elizabeth entered $2.50 in the paid column and the date, Jack took the pencil from her and signed his name.

"Good day, Ma'ams", he said as he shoved the $2.50 into his pocket, put his hat back on, and walked out.

"I am not courting you until my debt is paid off, so you can just give up for now!", Elizabeth angrily yelled at him as she stood in the doorway watching him walk down the dirt path.

 _He is so infuriating_!, she thought in a huff.

Elizabeth tried to ignore how handsome Jack had looked, and how nicely he had smelled when he had stood next to her, their heads almost touching as they had filled out the ledger. _He smelled like spearmint. He would taste nice to kiss_ , she thought distractedly. She tried to put that thought out of her mind as she slammed the door closed.

* * *

The next afternoon, Elizabeth was sitting at her desk preparing for the next day's lessons, when the sound of footsteps in the otherwise quiet saloon caused her to look up.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Jack greeted her as if there were no ill feelings between them.

"Jack", she replied simply.

"If you remember, my shirt tore on the night I was cut with the beer bottle. I don't have the right color thread or the time to mend it. I was wondering if you could sew it for me."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and looked at him skeptically.

"I'll be happy to pay you", he added hurriedly.

Elizabeth gave Jack an exasperated look.

"Jack, I would do it for you for free."

"Just like you, Elizabeth, I prefer to pay my debts."

"Fine. I'll do it", she said with a sigh.

"I have a few other items also. Simple mending, buttons, stuff like that. I've been in Coal Valley for a while now, and I'm not used to having to sew my own things."

"Bring them by my place."

As Elizabeth watched Jack walk out the door, she realized he hadn't mentioned wanting to court her.

* * *

An hour later, Jack showed up with a burlap sack which he handed to her. He explained that the items were all freshly laundered but in need of repair.

"All these items?!", Elizabeth said in surprise when she took the bag.

"Mountie work is very physical, plus living in the jail isn't exactly like living in luxurious conditions", Jack explained with a shrug.

"I have a list of prices. My mother sent me a telegram with the prices she pays her seamstress in Hamilton. I thought it was only fair that I pay you the same wages", he added.

"You sent a telegram to your mother just to ask for prices?!", Elizabeth said stunned.

"I was in a hurry", he replied simply before leaving.

 _My goodness, he must have torn every garment he owns_ , Elizabeth thought in shock as she sat down at the kitchen table with the pile of clothes in front of her. _He must be very clumsy or being a Mountie really is a very physical job_. _And_ _I thought teaching was hard work._

"He's grown up in a mansion with servants. I don't know why he thinks he can live on his own and fend for himself", Elizabeth remarked to Abigail when she noticed her looking at the large pile of clothing needing repair. "I knew the day he showed up in Coal Valley that he had no business being a Mountie here."

"Perhaps you were right", Abigail said simply.

* * *

Word spread quickly that Coal Valley now had an accomplished seamstress in town. The next day, one of the miners brought Elizabeth a shirt with a button that needed replacing, and an hour later, two more miners showed up with torn pants.

"We heard you do repairs", the miners said as they stopped by the Saloon at the end of their shift. For the next two days, Elizabeth kept busy sewing and with school work.

She was gathering her school books after a long day when Jack entered the saloon.

"Hello, Elizabeth. I'm on my way to the Café for a bite. I was wondering if you wanted to join me."

Elizabeth hesitated. She had missed Jack's company, but she was still a tiny bit angry at him for keeping his company a secret. And she really did have work to do.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I've got to get home. I've got a lot of work to do tonight."

Jack stared at her for a moment.

Finally, he spoke. "I understand. I won't bother you again."

Before she could explain any more, Jack turned and walked out.

* * *

When Elizabeth returned Jack's clothing to him the next day, he was busy doing paperwork at his desk. He looked up briefly when she entered.

"You can just put it on the cot, if you don't mind", he said before returning to his work.

"I just need you to sign the ledger. It was $3.00 for everything."

Jack looked up for his work again and signed the ledger which Elizabeth now held in front of him, before returning to his work.

"Thanks", he said as she started to walk out.

When she got to the door, Elizabeth paused. Jack's words from earlier came back to her. _Life is too short for us to hold onto petty grievances._ She had no intention of courting him until her scholarship was repaid. _He probably won't even be interested in me by then_ , she realized. But she didn't see any reason why they couldn't be friends.

"Jack, I hope we're still friends", she said as she turned around to look at him. She noticed some of his hair had fallen over his forehead. Elizabeth found herself resisting the urge to go over there and gently push it back with her fingers.

"I don't want to be your friend, Elizabeth", Jack said curtly as he looked her in the eye.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do. Thank you for the sewing." His voice was formal and dismissive as he returned his attention to his papers.

Elizabeth stood their wide-eyed for a moment. Her face became flushed and she hurried out the door. As she walked home, she breathed heavily. The fact that Jack didn't want to be her friend should have disappointed her. Except it didn't. Because something in his voice made it sound like he would take nothing less than being more than her friend. And that made her feel all jumbled inside.

* * *

A week later, Elizabeth wasn't so sure about Jack's feelings. Over the past week, she had rarely spoken to him. After school each day, she lingered in the saloon, hoping he would show up. But he didn't.

Elizabeth had begun to delay her exit from the saloon as long as possible until she was sure that Abigail must be wondering where she was and she should go home. When her stomach growled and miners came in to the saloon to eat supper, Elizabeth would finally close her books and walk home. She began to think that Jack was purposely staying away from the saloon until she was gone.

On Wednesday, as she walked along the street, Elizabeth saw him coming out of the mercantile. As he continued walking with some miners, Jack acknowledged her presence with a cordial smile as they passed one another, but he continued with his conversation with the men.

Elizabeth now sadly realized that Jack probably didn't even want to be friends. He had had enough of her earlier rudeness.

* * *

"My goodness, what did they do before me?", Elizabeth exclaimed to Abigail when another miner interrupted their supper to drop off a pair of torn pants.

"The last seamstress left town when her husband was killed in the mine explosion. That was months ago. The town hasn't had anyone since then. And most of the new miners are single so they don't have wives to do the sewing for them," Abigail explained as she saw the pile of clothes grew larger each day.

After two more weeks of nonstop repairs, Elizabeth was exhausted but pleased with the amount of money she had earned. Her thrill at the amount of income was quelled by her disappointment that her friendship with Jack had cooled. He was polite when they saw each other, but he no longer sought out her company.

Several times a week, Elizabeth stopped by the jail and repaid some amount of her teacher's salary or her sewing income to Jack, making sure to have him sign the ledger beside each payment. Often he was busy with paperwork or had someone talking to him, so he simply thanked her for the payment and signed the ledger. If he wasn't at the jail, Elizabeth could usually find him at the saloon, playing darts with some of the townsmen.

On Friday evening, Elizabeth's scanned the crowded Café, looking for him. She had already been to both the jail, which had been empty, and the saloon, where no one had seen him that evening.

"He's not here", Suzanne said as she noticed Elizabeth looking around the room.

When Elizabeth just stared coldly at her, Suzanne added smugly, "He's gone for the night. He told me he would be making camp a few hours from here and won't be back until tomorrow."

It was evident from Suzanne's attitude that she was quite pleased that she knew more about Jack's whereabouts than Elizabeth did.

"Do you want me to give him a message when I see him again?", Suzanne asked with a self-satisfied smile at her lips.

* * *

"She was so smug! I can't stand that woman!", Elizabeth said to Abigail as they sat in the kitchen after the last of the supper crowd had been served.

"She does have a way about her", Abigail agreed.

"I can't stand the way she acts. Like she can entice him to court her. She's nowhere near good enough for Jack, " Elizabeth said irritably.

"But you don't seem to be interested in him." Abigail reminded her.

"I can't think about courting him until my scholarship is paid back. And I'm a teacher. I shouldn't be courting anyway."

"Elizabeth, Suzanne is not the right woman for Jack. But, one day, there will be an appropriate woman. A good woman who will appreciate Jack's honorable intentions. And then he will be taken."

Elizabeth looked down in her cup of tea as she thought about Abigail's words. _I don't want Jack to be taken,_ she thought desperately. _Not by anyone but me_.

* * *

The next evening, Elizabeth found Jack at the jail. When he opened his desk drawer to put in her payment, she noticed that he had begun keeping his own tally on a piece of paper.

"I'm keeping an accurate accounting, Jack. You don't need to", she said defensively.

"Elizabeth, I own a company that is in the business of making profits. It's important for me to know my finances. I wouldn't be a very good Thornton if I didn't keep track of assets and debts."

"I thought you didn't care about the business."

"I was being naïve. My business is part of who I am." Jack said, before putting the money in the desk and shutting the drawer.

"Now, I'm afraid I have to go to the livery to check on my horse.", he said as he motioned towards the door.

Elizabeth took his hint and quickly excused herself. She knew when she wasn't wanted.

* * *

By the end of five weeks, Elizabeth was in a dull routine. Her days were spent teaching and her late afternoons were spent preparing classwork and grading papers. During the evenings, she sewed. Her nights were spent lying in bed wishing she didn't have so much pride. _You reap what you sow,_ she thought sadly. _This is my doing. I blamed Jack for something that was not his fault. I have no one but myself to blame for his indifference to me now._

Elizabeth was just finishing up another evening's worth of work when she heard a knock on the door.

"Jack! Is everything all right?", asked in surprised voice. She had become so used to being disappointed when he wasn't at her door that she had given up hoping that he would visit.

"I have a shirt that needs repairing. I caught it on a nail at the livery."

As Jack held up the flannel shirt, Elizabeth saw the large ragged rip on the side.

Elizabeth's mild disappointment that Jack was there for business was overshadowed by her happiness to see him.

"I can't get to it for few days.", she said apologetically.

"I'm afraid I need it by tomorrow evening."

"Tomorrow evening?!"

"Yes."

"Jack, I have school tomorrow and it's already late tonight."

"I'll pay triple if you can have it by tomorrow evening."

"Triple?!"

"Yes, Triple."

"But, Jack, that's $1.50!", she exclaimed.

"I'm kind of in a hurry for it", he stated.

"Okay. I'll do it. . . . Do you want to come in for a while? I can do it now if you don't mind waiting?", she asked hesitantly. _I've missed you_ , she thought to herself, wishing he could read her thoughts.

"Sorry, but no thank you. I'll be expecting it tomorrow evening. Good night." He gave her a pleasant smile and tipped his hat as he turned and walked away.

As Elizabeth closed the door and walked to her sewing basket, she wiped a tear from her eye.

 _I'm so stupid. I pushed him away. He didn't even want me to repay the scholarship and I insisted. My stupid stupid pride!,_ she thought as she used Jack's shirt to wipe away more tears.

* * *

Jack went straight from Elizabeth's to the Saloon. Several miners were standing by the bar, savoring their beers after a long day working underground, when he entered.

"Here he comes now", Ben Peterson remarked to the others as he saw Jack approach.

"Hello, gentlemen. Tom, can I get a beer, please?"

"I had Miss Thatcher fix a shirt for me today. Cost me 50 cents", Ben said casually as he took a swig of his beer.

"She sewed a button for me. Only cost me 5 cents", Dirk shrugged.

"She charged me $1.00 to fix my pants", another miner spoke up.

Jack reached into his pocket and took out several coins, handing some to each miner, who happily pocketed the money.

"How many more clothes you reckon we're going to have to rip until her debt's paid off , Constable?" Dirk asked as he took a sip of his beer.

Jack pulled out his slip of paper and looked at his tally of Elizabeth's payments.

"You can tell the rest of the men they're done. Thanks. I appreciate everyone's help", he said with a grin as Tom handed him his beer.

 _We'll be back to courting by tomorrow evening,_ Jack thought happily as he took a sip of beer. He smiled as he thought about what it would be like to finally kiss Elizabeth. Jack hadn't been lying when he told Elizabeth he was in hurry. He didn't want to wait any longer. Five weeks had been long enough.

Not to mention all the money he had been paying the miners to rip their clothes.

Up next: Chapter 8. The Kiss


	8. Chapter 8- Mending a Relationship

**Chapter 8 – Mending A Relationship / The Kiss**

Elizabeth finished fixing her hair and took one last look in the mirror. She was wearing one of her prettiest blouses, her skirt was neat and pressed, and her skin looked perfect, thanks to putting tea bags on her eyes to reduce the slight puffiness from her tears the night before.

 _Why am I so nervous_? she thought as she turned to her dresser and picked up her small bottle of cologne. Putting a small dab of the scent at the nape of her neck, she knew perfectly well why she was nervous. She was going to tell Jack that her scholarship was paid off as of today when she delivered his shirt.

Between some work for the miners yesterday which earned her $1.55 and then Jack's work for which he was going to pay her $1.50, she had exactly enough money to finish repaying the scholarship.

Elizabeth picked up Jack's shirt and held it to her face, breathing in his scent. She had always liked this shirt on him. _This is pathetic. I can't stand around sniffing his shirt! ,_ she thought in frustration.

Elizabeth hoped Jack would be at the jail. She didn't want to face him in front of anyone else, especially that dreadful Suzanne Gowen, if he was at the saloon or Café.

 _Take a deep breath and just calm down_ , she told herself. But the butterflies in her stomach refused to listen to her. _There's no reason to be nervous. I was silly and over emotional to cry last night. Jack was just a friend. I'm sure, eventually, we'll be able to be friends again. If I can mend clothes, I should be able to mend friendships, for goodness sakes!_

* * *

Elizabeth pushed back her shoulders, stood up tall, and opened the door to the jail.

"Elizabeth!", Jack said in a startled voice. It was still early afternoon and he hadn't expected her for a few hours.

"Jack", she greeted him awkwardly.

"Here's your shirt", she said, feeling nervous, as she walked across the room and held it out to him.

"I was just about to get out of my uniform now anyway. Wait a minute while I change", he said pleasantly as he reached out his arm.

"Jack", she exclaimed in shock. But she released his shirt to him.

Jack chuckled. "Just turn your back. I'll go change in the cell."

"I can come back later for you to sign the ledger", she offered.

"No. Stay. Please. I want to talk to you", he said casually over his shoulder as he started to undress.

Elizabeth realized that if she tried to cross the room to leave, she might inadvertently see him changing, so she remained still, her back to the cell. She was just wondering what he looked like without his shirt on, when he spoke.

"Okay, you can turn around now."

When Elizabeth turned around, she took a deep breath. Jack, oblivious to his own good looks, pushed his hair out of face, and then tugged on the cuffs of his shirt.

 _It should be a crime for a man to be that handsome without even trying_ , Elizabeth thought.

"Elizabeth?" His voice interrupted her thoughts

"I'm sorry, Jack. Did you say something?"

"I said it's perfect. I can't even see where the tear was. You are an excellent seamstress,"

"Well, I've had years of practice", she replied with a shrug.

"I brought my ledger. Here's $1.55 in cash. And with the $1.50 you owe me for the repair – you did say triple?" She looked at him nervously, wondering if maybe he wouldn't think her work was worth triple the normal price.

"I did. And I am a man of my word", he responded with a smile.

"Well, with that $1.50, my debt is paid off."

"How about that", Jack said innocently as he moved over to the desk and looked at the ledger she had opened.

"I can pay you interest if you want, but you hadn't mentioned it, so I didn't think it was necessary".

"Interest?" Jack said with a jolt. He realized he had never even thought about interest.

"It would take me longer, but if -". Her voice trailed off as she felt his closeness.

 _On my god, no! She's not seriously considering that, is she?!,_ Jack thought in horror.

 _How many more clothes can the people of Coal Valley possibly rip up?!_ His face registered his shock at the idea.

Elizabeth saw the look on his face .

"I'm sorry. I can tell from the look on your face that you assumed I would be paying interest. I'm sorry. It was silly of me not to consider that earlier", she said in dismay.

"No! No Interest!" Jack exclaimed desperately.

Elizabeth, taken aback by his insistence, looked at him curiously.

"No interest. Definitely no interest payments", he reiterated more calmly. _If she makes me wait any longer, I'm going to have a heart attack,_ he thought in exasperation.

"Okay . Well, thank you, Jack. We can put the whole thing behind us."

When Jack continued looking at her and didn't make a move to sign the ledger, Elizabeth began to get nervous. _What is wrong with him?_ , she thought.

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

"The ledger. Do you want to sign the ledger?" Elizabeth motioned to the book.

"Of course. Sorry", he said. He shook his head slightly to clear away thoughts of kissing her, and picked up the pencil.

As he handed the signed book back to her, Elizabeth's hand took hold of the other side. Instead of removing his hand, Jack held it there longer than necessary.

"Elizabeth, I was wondering if you would like to go riding with me. It's still going to be light out for a few hours."

"Are we friends again?", she asked hesitantly.

"I told you that I don't want to be your friend."

"I don't understand", she said. The confusion was evident in her voice.

"Elizabeth" , Jack paused and reached for her free hand.

"I care about you. I want to court you. I thought I made that perfectly clear. Unless you don't want me to. Have your feelings changed?", he suddenly sounded unsure.

He started to drop her hand, but she held onto his.

"But, you've been so distant!", she wailed.

"I wanted to give you time to do your sewing and I didn't want you to feel pressured to spend time with me. I knew you wanted to pay back the scholarship", Jack explained with a smile.

"So, you still want to court me?", Elizabeth asked in astonishment

Jack dropped her hand and walked over to one of the cells. When he got to the cot, he moved aside his jacket, which had been obscuring a bouquet of flowers.

"I picked these for you. I was going to give them to you this evening when I picked up my shirt."

"But how did you know my debt would be paid off today?"

Jack chuckled. "Don't forget. I've been keeping my own tally."

* * *

Jack felt the rigidness of Elizabeth's corset through her clothing as his hands held onto her waist and he helped her down from the horse. Not for the first time, he pushed aside thoughts of what it would be like to touch her waist without the restrictive garment.

"I've been doing some reading. In fact, I borrowed some of your magazines," he said as he led her through the grass.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Did you read the article about Arabella Mansfield?", he asked.

"She's the first female lawyer in the United States. She's also a teacher at two colleges."

"She's also married", Jack said.

"And a suffragette."

"Is there anything you don't know?", he asked with a chuckle.

"I don't know the reason for this conversation."

"I think you do"

"You want to become an American female suffragette?", Elizabeth teased.

"No," Jack laughed.

"What is your point?"

"That perhaps it's okay for a woman to have a man by her side, and still achieve her goals, still teach."

"Perhaps", said Elizabeth, as she bit her bottom lip to keep her face from breaking into a broad grin.

Jack loved when she did that with her lip. He had noticed she always did it when she was nervous and pleased at the same time. He also recognized that she probably had no idea of the effect it had on him.

"You remembered that I once told you that I was thinking about teaching college! But that was when we first met. And you still remember?", she realized with a pleasant start.

"I remember everything you've said to me.. . . You're not an easy person to forget." Jack said with a smile.

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip again.

 _My god, she really has no idea how adorable she looks when she does that,_ Jack thought.

"It's nice here", Elizabeth said as they looked out into the valley. They stood in silence for a moment, side by side with their fingers intertwined as they held hands.

"I was kind of hoping we could pick up where we left off before things went so badly," Jack suggested.

"I don't know. It was a long time ago. I'm not sure I remember", Elizabeth said with a smile and a twinkle in her eye.

"Well, I seem to remember we were discussing how beautiful it is here, and I said I would like to kiss a pretty girl", Jack said as he turned to face her.

"Any pretty girl?", she teased.

"Just one girl", he said with a grin.

"I just want to kiss one girl", he repeated softly as he let go off her hand, and cupped her face, leaning in to her.

As his lips moved closer to hers, he whispered, "Elizabeth, you're the one. . . . The only one."

Jack's lips tenderly brushed softly against hers. When she leaned towards him, silently inviting him to continue, Jack pressed his mouth to hers. He moved his hands to her hair, keeping her close. The way he held her, like she belonged to him, made Elizabeth go dizzy. Her mouth parted without thought and she realized with a start that she wanted nothing more in her life than to have this man's lips on hers.

She was aware of everything about him. The way his mouth tasted of spearmint, the faint smell of his soap, the feel of his hands as they touched her hair. At the same time, she was all at once unaware of anything around them. She didn't notice the breeze blowing, or the birds chirping, or even the horse moving about. All she knew was that she never wanted the kiss to end.

If someone had asked Jack earlier in the day how many women he had kissed in his life, he would have replied honestly that he had had kissed his fair share. But that moment, when he kissed Elizabeth, Jack couldn't remember ever having kissed anyone else. And if he never kissed anyone other than Elizabeth for the rest of his life, he would be perfectly happy.

In fact, he would prefer it.

* * *

 _ **Preview to chapter 9: The Trouble with Family**_

The attractive middle-aged woman, dressed in simple but clean clothing, anxiously handed the envelope to the man across the counter.

"How long do you think it will take to get there?"

The man glanced from the woman's worried face to the address she had written on the envelope, before he replied. "There's a train going out today. But Coal Valley's a small town. I'm not sure how often deliveries get there. Maybe five days. If you're lucky."

"Okay. Thank you, Wilbur", she said as she handed him a coin for the postage.

"I heard about what happened.", he said, feeling her embarrassment.

"I'm sure the whole town has heard."

"I'm real sorry, Mrs. Thatcher."


	9. Chapter 9 - The Trouble with Family

**Chapter 9 - The Trouble with Family**

The attractive middle-aged woman, dressed in simple but clean clothing, anxiously handed the envelope to the man across the counter.

"How long do you think it will take to get there?"

The man glanced from the woman's worried face to the address she had written on the envelope, before he replied. "There's a train going out today. But Coal Valley's a small town. I'm not sure how often deliveries get there. Maybe five days. If you're lucky."

"Okay. Thank you, Wilbur", she said as she handed him a coin for the postage.

"I heard about what happened", he said, feeling her embarrassment.

"I'm sure the whole town has heard", she replied with sigh.

"I'm real sorry, Mrs. Thatcher."

* * *

It had been three days since their hilltop kiss. Elizabeth and Jack, both aware of their high profile jobs, tried to appear platonic whenever they were in public. Unfortunately, their glances at each other, Jack's winks from across the saloon, Elizabeth's blushing whenever he looked at her, and the handholding under the Café table had been seen by enough people that news of their relationship status had traveled swiftly through the town.

Elizabeth's female students thought it was all very romantic. Her male students didn't understand why Jack would prefer to go walking with their teacher rather than play ball with them, and Abigail, after months of watching Jack and Elizabeth skirt their feelings, was happy they were finally an official couple.

Elizabeth was in the mercantile buying some school supplies when Suzanne Gowen and Joyce Martin came into the store to look at bolts of fabric. Elizabeth was pretty sure that Suzanne had seen her, but Suzanne acted otherwise as she spoke to Joyce.

"Well, it looks like the simple school teacher has temporarily managed to attract Jack's interest."

"They have been spending a lot of time together", Joyce replied as she unrolled a bolt of pale pink cotton fabric.

"I'm sure he enjoys the diversion", Suzanne said. Her voice carried around the mercantile.

Elizabeth walked around the high shelving and approached the two women.

"Diversion?" she angrily questioned Suzanne.

"You're a school teacher. You must know what the word means", Suzanne said with a malicious smile.

"i know perfectly well what it means. I just don't understand why you said it."

"You're merely something to keep him occupied for the time being, while he's stationed in this small town", Suzanne explained airily. "Surely, you must realize that's all you are."

"Here's a vocabulary word for you, Suzanne. It's 'jealousy'."

"Elizabeth, you're a simple girl. I'm sure you're nice enough, but you are nowhere near Jack's social class. He may have fun with you now, but it's not going to last. Eventually, he'll tire of playing Mountie and hero to the town's teacher."

"Just shut up, Suzanne!", Elizabeth said irritably as she set down her items and stormed out of the store.

* * *

"She called me a diversion!", Elizabeth exclaimed to Jack, as they walked through the woods after his rounds.

"Well, you are diverting my attention", Jack grinned.

"How?", she asked hotly.

"That curl for instance", he said motioning towards her.

"What curl?" Elizabeth asked wrinkling her brow.

"The one right here", Jack said as he stopped walking. He reached over and tenderly twirled his finger around a lock of her hair which was falling down the side of her face.

"It always falls out of your hair pins by the end of the day. I love the way it spirals. I have a tendency to think about it sometimes when I should be concentrating on Mountie work", he admitted with a shrug and a smile.

Jack leaned in for a kiss, but Elizabeth placed her hands on his chest and gently kept him away.

"As much as I like you thinking about me, I don't want you being distracted when you're working", she instructed him.

"It's too late for that."

"Jack, I'm serious. I've seen your clothes. Your job is very physical. You're constantly getting roughed up and tearing something."

Jack tried to hide his smile.

"You're right, Elizabeth. And I'll be sure to be careful. But despite my city boy background, I've been riding since I was five, pheasant shooting since I was 13, and attending fox hunts since I was 15. Not to mention, -but I will -I was top of my class in school. So being a Mountie isn't so difficult for me." Jack assured her.

"Okay. Then you can kiss me", she said with a grin.

 _That stupid Suzanne Gowen has no idea what she is talking about_ , Elizabeth thought happily as Jack finished kissing her and they continued walking.

Suzanne's childish insults were forgotten by Elizabeth as she and Jack enjoyed the remainder of the evening before he escorted her home. As Elizabeth lay in bed that night, she fell asleep thinking about how happy she was that Jack was so at ease in Coal Valley. She couldn't imagine him fitting in better anywhere else.

* * *

"Jack", Elizabeth said as she looked up and saw him approaching her table the next morning. "Join me for breakfast."

"I'd love to. I was at the mercantile and Ned asked me to give you your mail. I'm not sure why he thought I'd be seeing you", Jack said a little too innocently, as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

Elizabeth smiled as she took an envelope from Jack. "I think the whole town knows we're courting. It doesn't take a Mountie's investigative skills to figure that out."

Jack smiled back, and looked hungrily at Elizabeth's plate of pancakes.

"It's from my mother", Elizabeth said as she used a knife to slice open envelope and pulled out the thin sheets of paper.

Elizabeth began quietly reading the letter as Abigail brought Jack a cup of coffee.

"Oh my lord!", Elizabeth exclaimed. She looked wide-eyed at Jack.

"What is it?"

"My sister. Julie's run away and joined the circus!"

Jack set down his coffee cup.

"Julie's your younger sister. The one that tends to get into trouble?", he asked. From what he remembered, Elizabeth had become something of a second mother to the girl after their father died and Mrs. Thatcher had been overwhelmed.

"Yes. And now she's done it again! Apparently some men called the Ringling brothers have a circus traveling across North America, and Julie and some friends went to see them. Julie went back to see the acts three nights in a row, and on the fourth night, she packed a bag, told our mother she was going to live a life of adventure and thrills and left!"

"What does your mom want to do?", Jack said as he reached across the table and took a forkful of Elizabeth's pancakes.

Elizabeth pushed the plate over to him. "Take them. I can't eat."

Elizabeth set down the letter and looked at Jack in disbelief.

"She wants me to go after Julie and bring her back."

* * *

Four hours later, Elizabeth was anxiously packing her few clothes for the trip. The advertisement which her mother had enclosed listed the circus' schedule of venues, and Elizabeth was planning on being in Hamilton the day after the circus arrived there. Elizabeth had already booked stagecoach and train tickets for tomorrow, sent a telegram to her mother informing her that she would be going after Julie, and left instructions with town mothers about school lessons.

Elizabeth was going down the stairs in search of a missing handkerchief when Jack walked into the parlor from the kitchen.

"Jack", she said when she saw him.

"Elizabeth, I'm going with you."

"To Hamilton?"

"Yeah, I need to make sure you get there safely."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Plus I get a chance to catch up with my family. I can take some leave now. So don't even think of giving me an argument."

"I wasn't planning on it", Elizabeth said gratefully.

"I'm so worried, Jack", she said as she crossed the room to him.

"Hey... It's gonna be okay. Don't worry", Jack assured her as she moved into his arms.

* * *

Elizabeth tossed and turned all night. She knew that Julie could be a handful and Elizabeth had no idea if Julie would listen to her and come to her senses. The Thatcher women could be headstrong, but at least Elizabeth looked before she leaped. Unfortunately, Julie didn't.

On the long train ride, Jack explained that he had sent a telegram to his family telling them to expect their arrival.

"Mother will have a guest room made up for you."

Elizabeth tried to protest, but Jack had refused to listen to her argument that she could stay at a hotel. Elizabeth was secretly grateful. As nervous as Elizabeth felt about the prospect of staying at the Thornton home, she had to admit that she would have been more nervous staying a hotel in the city by herself.

"I'm glad you're with me. Thank you", Elizabeth said as she rested her head on Jack's shoulder. Before long, she had fallen asleep from the rhythm of the train's movement.

A few hours later, the train whistle announcing their arrival at a station along the way, woke up Elizabeth. The 15 minute stop to allow for new passengers gave her and Jack time to get off the train and stretch their legs. When Elizabeth came out of the ladies room, she saw Jack coming out of the station's restaurant carrying a paper bag and holding two bottles.

"I got us some lunch", he said holding up the bag.

Once they were settled back in their seats, Jack handed Elizabeth a napkin and frankfurter.

I'm glad you're with me. Thank you", Elizabeth said as swallowed a bite and looked at Jack.

"You already said that", Jack replied as he reached across and wiped a smear of mustard from her face.

"I know. But it's true." Elizabeth said as she smiled at him, and was rewarded with a kiss.

* * *

Elizabeth stayed close to Jack as they moved through the crowd of people hurrying through the bustling Hamilton train station after their long train ride.

"Jack Thornton!", a man's voice rang out.

Elizabeth watched as a well-dressed man in his late twenties approached Jack and shook his hand.

"Joe Hardy! How are you?", jack asked pleasantly.

"I'm fine, but I heard you were stationed in some dusty little coal town".

"I am, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Joe, this is Miss Elizabeth Thatcher."

"Charmed, Ma'am. Well Jack, aren't you lucky to have met such a pretty lady on the train. And I assume you offered to carry her bag in exchange for her telling you her name. "

Jack laughed. "She's a friend of mine from Coal Valley. She's meeting a relative here in Hamilton and I'm showing her around."

The sound of the train whistle caught Joe's attention. "That's my train! I've off to Calgary. I'm meeting some guys from our school days. Will, Frank, Steve will all be there. Wish you could join us. "

"Maybe another time. Tell everyone I said hello."

"Friend of yours?" Elizabeth asked as they made their way to the taxi stand.

"We went to school together and we belong to the same club. He likes to play more than work and luckily his family has enough money to allow that", Jack responded.

* * *

When the taxi pulled into the long drive leading to the Thornton home, Elizabeth realized that Jack's family had more than enough money to allow Jack to play instead of work. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a tiny thought came to her. _I hope being a Mountie isn't just something he needs to get out of his system._

 _I hope I'm not just a temporary diversion._

Elizabeth looked at the large gracious home with its manicured lawn, so foreign from the small house in which she had grown up, and wondered how Jack, so reasonable and down-to-earth, could have grown up here. She was instantly struck by the kind of man he must be to prefer working in the wilderness than living in this ivy covered stone mansion.

As they climbed out of the taxi, the front door to the home opened, and a handsome man, somewhat younger than Jack, came out to greet them.

"You're here. Good to have you home, Jack", he jovially said as the men hugged.

"Jack! My boy is home!", a woman exclaimed as she came hurrying out the front door. She put her arms around Jack, who returned her hug and gave her kiss on the cheek. Jack's mother's had a pretty face which was glowing with happiness. Her hair was pinned back with elaborate pearl encrusted hair combs. An expensive stylish dress accentuated her slender figure as she kept her arms around Jack.

"I'm your boy too, mom. You don't have to make it so obvious that Jack is your favorite", Tom said with a chuckle.

"I love both my boys!", the woman said good-naturedly, but it was clear to Elizabeth that Jack held a special place in her heart.

"Mom, Tom, this is Elizabeth Thatcher", Jack said as he motioned to her.

"Nice to make your acquaintance", Tom said as he looked at her and then gave Jack a knowing smile. Elizabeth recognized it as Tom's indication that he approved of her looks.

"Good to put a face to the name. I understand you're the teacher of Coal Valley. Education is a big interest of mine." Elizabeth noticed that as Mrs. Thornton spoke, her eyes were taking in Elizabeth, head to foot, trying to assess what sort of woman her son had brought home.

"Come along boys and Elizabeth." Mrs. Thornton gestured them into the house.

The foyer was large, larger than Elizabeth's bedroom back home. A circular cherry wood table stood in the center of the room, bearing a vase of long stemmed yellow roses, and an elaborate Persian rug covered part of the floor. Paintings in gilded frames lined the wall of the grand staircase.

"I'll have Ashley show Elizabeth to her room before we have tea so she can freshen up", Mrs. Thornton remarked. Elizabeth noticed a pretty brunette woman in a maid's uniform coming down the staircase and approaching them.

"Miss, where are your other bags?", the young lady, whom Elizabeth assumed was Ashley, asked.

"Just this one", Elizabeth said matter-of-factly.

"I apologize. I thought you were staying with us for several days", Mrs. Thornton remarked curiously.

"I am."

"And only one bag?" Mrs. Thornton looked shocked at the idea.

"Just the one", Elizabeth repeated, although suddenly she was self-conscious about it.

* * *

Tea at the Thornton mansion had been dignified.

The trip to the circus was a disaster.

Jack and Elizabeth had enjoyed their quick tea with the family before taking a car across town to the circus grounds. Jack had escorted Elizabeth past the tents, the cages of animals, and the trailers, before leaving her to have a private talk with Julie.

Thirty minutes later, when Elizabeth came out of the brightly painted trailer, the frustration was evident on her face.

"She's impossible! Incorrigible! She has no purpose in life. She thinks it's totally acceptable to run away from home and get a job walking on the high wire at a circus! The high wire!", Elizabeth exclaimed to Jack as they took the car to a small Italian restaurant.

"Give her a day or two to realize that it's not as glamorous and exciting as she thinks."

"A day or two? She'll probably fall off the wire and break her neck just to cause me more grief", Elizabeth said angrily.

Jack laughed. "From what you've told me about Julie, she always causes trouble and finds a way out of it. Give her a day or two. In the meantime, you can spend your time thinking about me."

"You're incorrigible, Jack", Elizabeth said with a shake of head, but she still smiled at him.

* * *

Elizabeth woke up the next morning lying between smooth sheets, covered by an expensive blanket, of the Thornton's guest room bed. She lay in bed, looking around the large room until the knock on the door caused her to sit up.

"Come in", she called as she put on the slippers and robe which had been thoughtfully provided to her.

"Good morning, miss."

"Good morning, Ashley". Elizabeth had immediately taken a liking to the young maid when she had met her yesterday.

"I came to see if your dress for tonight's dinner party needs pressing"

"Oh, yes, thank you. It's there in the closet."

"I don't see it, Miss." Ashley said after she had crossed the room and opened the closet door.

"My dress isn't in the closet?"

"Other than a simple day dress, there's just your traveling dress, Miss."

"Yes. I thought I could wear it tonight for dinner."

"Wear this one?", Ashley said trying to hide her surprise as she held up Elizabeth's traveling dress.

"Yes. That's the one", Elizabeth answered pleasantly.

"No?" Elizabeth asked, now suddenly worried. She had never been to an elaborate dinner party, and Jack had assured her that it was nothing special. Just dinner in the dining room with some family friends, he had said.

"Of course, miss. My mistake. It will be lovely. I'll iron it for you."

Ashley frowned as she walked down the hallway carrying Elizabeth's dress. This wouldn't do. It wouldn't do at all. Ashley had been the maid to a number of guests in the Thornton home. Some pleasant. Some rude. But none that were so sweet and so very desperately in need of help in this situation as Elizabeth.

Ashley stopped outside of Tom's room. She knew he hadn't gone down for breakfast yet. She paused just a brief moment before knocking. If Tom couldn't help somehow, Elizabeth was going to have a very rough evening with the other guests.

* * *

"Jack, did you see her dress when you showed up yesterday?" Tom asked as he sat on the edge of a study chair after breakfast.

"Not particularly. But she always looks nice and well-groomed."

"Well groomed? She's not a horse, Jack," Tom said in disgust at his brother's lack of insight into women.

"That's not what I meant", Jack said dismissively.

"I'm sure she dresses very nicely for Coal Valley. But it's not good enough for a dinner party here. This isn't your little saloon or Café or wherever the heck you eat in that town of yours."

"Tom, she doesn't care about fancy dresses and neither do I."

"I know women. She'll feel uncomfortable wearing a simple farm town dress tonight.

"It's not a farm town. It's a coal town, Tom. That would be why they call it 'Coal Valley'", Jack said as he rolled his eyes at his brother.

"Jack, it's not just family. The Beachems will be here, as well as the Stevensons and the Middletons."

"So?"

"So, the women will smile and make comments like 'What a sweet dress, did you make it yourself?' or ' My, what a pretty dress; I forgotten that was the style last season.' Or, 'What a nice color. It blends in with everything.'"

Jack looked at Tom with raised eyebrows. "How do you know so much about women?"

"My dear older brother, while you've been settling for your good friend, Lady Suzanna, as your escort for functions, I have been enjoying the company of many, many, many young ladies. I know women. I'll fix this."

"No meddling, Tom", Jack said sternly.

"Me? Meddle? I never meddle. I invest emotionally in your well-being. And when my older brother brings home a lovely lady, and he's hopelessly unaware of the needs of the opposite sex, I would be derelict not to get involved. Don't worry. I'll handle it."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

* * *

Three hours later, Elizabeth found herself at Hamilton's finest ladies boutique standing in front of a saleslady and an array of evening gowns.

"Tom, this store is too expensive. Can we please go somewhere else?"

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth, but this is the only store I know of. It's where my mother always buys her dresses. And it's really not that expensive. Besides, you're not paying. I am."

"But, Tom—"

"No arguing. Consider this as you doing me a favor."

"How is you buying me a dress, me doing you a favor?" Elizabeth asked in confusion.

"Jack would deck me if he found out I was responsible for you not having a dress. He thinks you're in your room taking a nap right now."

"It's not your fault the maid damaged my dress."

"If I hadn't been flirting so shamelessly with her while she was ironing, she wouldn't have scorched it. So it's entirely my fault."

A saleslady, who had initially frowned when she saw Elizabeth's simple dress, now eagerly escorted her to a back room. Her arms were laden down with several of the store's most expensive stylish dresses which the saleslady would be thrilled to sell.

"You're not going to dock her pay are you? Please tell me you're not. I'm sure it was just an accident", Elizabeth worriedly asked as she poked her head around the corner.

"No, of course not. Like you said, it was just a simple accident. These things happen", Tom said dismissively. "Now please, try on the dresses."

 _My goodness, I've had it easier getting women out of their fancy dresses than getting this woman into one_ , Tom thought incredibly with a shake of his head.

* * *

"What do you think of the girl?", Jack's mother asked her husband as they prepared for the evening.

"Dear, stop worrying. I'm sure she's just something to keep his attention while he's in that sleepy little town."

"I'm not so sure." It was evident by her voice that Mrs. Thornton was worried.

"You've invited the Beachems. One look at Lady Suzanna and Jack will forget all about that simple girl."

"Did you see the way that 'simple girl' looks at our son?"

"I have", he said with a sigh. "And that is somewhat worrisome", Mr. Thornton responded with a frown.

 _ **Up Next: The Dinner Party**_


	10. Chapter 10- The Dinner Party

**Chapter 10 – The Dinner Party**

"You look beautiful, Miss", Ashley remarked as she paused when walking past Elizabeth in the upstairs hallway.

"Thank you, Ashley. I must say I am a little nervous", Elizabeth admitted as she looked down the staircase and saw the small group of elegantly dressed people in the foyer and in the large room to the right of it. She had never seen Jack, now wearing a tuxedo, waistcoat, and bow tie, so formally dressed.

Elizabeth took a deep breath. _Here goes_.

Just as Elizabeth started down the staircase, Ashley dropped some items she had been carrying, causing a small clatter. _My goodness that girl is clumsy_ , Elizabeth thought.

Everyone in the foyer, their attention initially drawn by the sound of the noise, now watched as Elizabeth descended the stairs. The front half of her hair was twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head, while long tendrils cascaded down her back. She was wearing a dress made of elegant sheer fabric in a rich deep coral and embellished with beads that seemed to float over the silk solid under-dress. A strip of the fabric crossed over her shoulder and cascaded down her back to skim the floor. Jack stared at her for a moment without moving. Elizabeth smiled when she saw the look on his face. _He looks like he's never seen me before!_

Without taking his eyes off of Elizabeth, Jack excused himself from the other guests and crossed the foyer, meeting Elizabeth as she reached the bottom step.

"You take my breath away", he said quietly.

Elizabeth giggled. "Well, I wouldn't want to do that."

"You've also put me in a dilemma."

"How so?"

"I can't decide if we should sneak out of this dinner party and just spend the evening the two of us or if we should join the other guests", he said with a smile.

Elizabeth grinned. "Since this party is in your honor, I think it would only be polite if we attend."

Jack offered his arm to Elizabeth, and escorted her into the main room. He moved his hand to the small of her back as he proudly introduced her to his Uncle Alistair and several other people before he was called away by his mother to greet newly arriving guests.

For ten minutes, Elizabeth mingled with the guests as they talked about polo, sailing, cricket, and opera.

"That's Lady Suzanna Beachem", the young man standing next to Elizabeth informed her when he noticed she had stopped listening to his story about sailing. Elizabeth's eyes were looking at Jack as he greeted the beautiful woman who had just arrived. "She and Jack are old friends."

Elizabeth noticed that Lady Suzanna's face lit up when she saw Jack, and that Jack warmly embraced the woman as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

As Elizabeth tried to return her attention to the young man next to her, she said a silent thank you that the maid had scorched her dress and Tom had taken her to the boutique. The other women at the party were dressed in the most stylish exquisite dresses Elizabeth had ever seen.

* * *

When the butler announced that dinner was served, Elizabeth, who was ushered into the dining room with the other guests, was disappointed to see that she was not seated next to Jack. Taking her place between Uncle Alistair and the middle-aged Mr. Stevenson, she watched as Jack pulled out the chair next to him for Lady Suzanna.

"So, Jack, how is that town you're living in?" , Mr. Stevenson asked across the table as the waiters began to serve.

"It's nice. I'm enjoying being stationed there."

"It's quite a small town from what I've heard", another guest remarked.

"Jack doesn't even have a place to stay. He's staying in the saloon still", Tom announced.

"Actually, I've pretty much moved into the jail. The Mounties are paying for a room to be added to the back of it for me. And in the meantime, I sleep in one of the jail cells", Jack replied.

"You sleep in a jail cell?!" exclaimed Mrs. Middleton.

"It's not so bad. It's quiet."

"How tragic", another woman murmured.

" Actually, it's quite comfortable."

"Elizabeth, I hope you at least have suitable housing and aren't sleeping at your desk?", Mr. Middleton asked jokingly.

"Not usually", Jack chuckled before Elizabeth could respond.

"I live above the Café. It's very nice". Elizabeth quickly spoke up before Jack divulged to the entire dinner table that her students had found her asleep at a table with a note stuck to her forehead.

"Above the Café? Isn't there a teacherage", Mrs. Thornton asked in surprise.

"There was. But unfortunately there was a fire", Elizabeth replied.

"Ah, yes. The fire that burned down the school." Mr. Thornton joined in the conversation.

"Um, no. Another fire", Elizabeth noted.

"Another fire?!'

"Yes. Unfortunately."

"There certainly are a lot of fires in that town." Mr. Thornton said in surprise.

"Well it is a coal town, " Tom remarked.

"So the life of a Mountie must be quite dangerous, especially on the frontier? ", Mrs. Stevenson remarked.

"It has its good days and its bad days. More good than bad", Jack replied nonchalantly.

"Your mother was worried sick about you. She had all sorts of visions of you showing up with broken bones or a black eye", Mr. Thornton remarked.

"No black eyes for me. Although, Elizabeth had one once", Jack offered good-naturedly.

"Elizabeth had a black eye?", Lady Suzanna questioned as several guests turned to look at Elizabeth.

"It was nothing. I got between two coal boys in a fight", Elizabeth said pleasantly.

"Two coal miners were fighting over you?" , Lord Beachem questioned.

If Elizabeth hadn't been the center of attention before, she was now.

"No, they weren't fighting _over_ me. I just got between them. It was all rather silly. We were in the saloon and –".

"You were in the saloon with two coal miners?", Mrs. Thornton questioned, a look of surprise on her face.

"No, they were my students not coal miners, and you see –"

"You take your students to the saloon?" The disapproval was evident in Mrs. Thornton's voice.

"No. My classroom, and –".

"I thought you said it was in the saloon," Mr. Thornton interjected.

"Well, yes, that's my classroom." Elizabeth was beginning to get flustered. Everyone was staring at her as if waiting to hear some scandalous details.

"Was it the saloon or the classroom?", Mrs. Middleton asked adamantly.

"Her classroom is in the saloon. As we said, there was a fire in the town. So the saloon is the temporary school. Elizabeth was breaking up a fight between two students." Jack patiently explained.

"I would think that a teacher should have better control over her classroom and students than to allow a fight to happen." Mrs. Thornton remarked with displeasure.

"She has very good control of her students, mother."

When Mrs. Thornton merely raised her eyebrows, Jack continued, "Her students love her."

"One of her students even gave a beautiful gold and gemstone necklace. He told her that he wanted to give it to her because it was so pretty like her." Jack said with a smile.

"Where did the boy get an expensive piece of jewelry?", one of the guests asked.

Jack suddenly realized maybe he shouldn't have spoken.

"Well, unfortunately it was owned by a criminal in town and well, the boy found it and, . . . he didn't return it", Elizabeth admitted haltingly.

"Do you know a lot of criminals?", Mrs. Stevenson looked shocked.

"No, . . . just the one. And Jack handled him", Elizabeth answered, suddenly feeling flustered again.

"But the boy knew who it belonged to, this criminal?"

"Well, yes. But – well, he was so sweet, he wanted to give it to me."

"Your students steal for you ?", Mrs. Thornton questioned critically.

"No!", Elizabeth exclaimed in shock.

"The necklace is not the point. The point is that her students think very highly of her", Jack said in frustration.

"Did you keep the stolen necklace?", Mrs. Stevenson asked.

"No, of course not! I returned it to the man to whom it belonged."

"The criminal you know?", Lord Beachem inquired.

"Enough with the criminal!", Jack exclaimed in frustration.

After taking a calming breath, Jack tied to steer the conversation in another direction.

"Elizabeth is an excellent teacher. She motivates her students. She knows how to keep their attention. One time, while standing on a table, she lifted up her skirt and took off her shoe, and then she took out her hair comb. And –"

Jack realized he had everyone's rapt attention, but he stopped talking when he noticed Elizabeth furiously shaking her head at him.

Everyone's eyes moved from Elizabeth to Jack and back again.

"Ah well, it's not really that interesting a story", Jack said. He realized that Elizabeth may not think it was the best image of her as a proper school teacher.

"No, please go on, Jack. I'm sure we'd all love to hear how your friend was standing on a table entertaining a crowded saloon with her hair down. I'm sure it's a very interesting story", Mrs. Thornton said stiffly.

Elizabeth began to blush. _When she puts it that way it sounds down right disgraceful!_

"Gravity. It was gravity", Elizabeth said meekly as Jack shook his head in bewilderment and wondered how this conversation had gone so terribly wrong.

The table was quiet as everyone stared at one another and then glanced at Elizabeth.

"The law of inertia", Elizabeth mumbled quietly.

"Well, I'm not sure that's how Sir Isaac Newton would have explained gravity, but then maybe he didn't have hair combs and a saloon." Uncle Alistair remarked.

"I'm sure Jack prefers kissing Elizabeth over stuffy old Sir Isaac Newton", Tom remarked in an ill attempt to add humor.

If the table had been smaller, Jack would have kicked Tom in the leg. As it was, he glowered at him.

"What?! What did I say wrong? You _have_ kissed her. And I know you enjoyed it", Tom said defensively as he looked at Jack.

Elizabeth was mortified. Her cheeks turned even pinker as she stared down at her napkin in her lap. She may not have been to a high society dinner party before, but she was pretty sure that her kissing was not an appropriate topic of conversation.

The room remained silent except for a few quick whispers. Elizabeth could feel the guests staring at her. She imagined they were thinking the worst of her. _Gold digger. Flirt. Simple school teacher_ living _above a Café and_ _trying to land a rich man._ She decided that, even if it took hours, she was not going to look up from her lap until she heard the last of the dinner guests leave the table and go home for the night.

It was so quiet that when Jack finally broke the silence, everyone in the room, his family, the guests, even the butler, heard his words. And the honesty in his voice.

"Her kisses are the best kisses I have _ever_ had", he said in a clear deliberate unembarrassed voice as he looked across the table at her.

The warmth and genuineness of his feelings wasn't overlooked by anyone in the room, not even Elizabeth, who was still looking at the napkin in her lap.

Elizabeth, who had been on the verge of tears, jerked her head up. Jack was looking directly at her. When he gave her a reassuring smile and a wink, she couldn't help but smile back.

"And now, I think that Elizabeth has been the center of conversation for too long. Mr. Middleton, how is the cattle business going?", Jack said pleasantly as he turned and addressed the gentleman diagonal from him.

* * *

Elizabeth watched as Jack and Lady Suzanna sat side by side on the piano bench after the meal had concluded and everyone had gone into the front room.

"They're having such a good time together, aren't they?" , Mrs. Thornton said as she came to stand next to Elizabeth.

"I've heard they've been friends for a very long time."

"Jack and Suzanna have a lot in common. They took lessons from the same teachers, shared the same friends.", Mrs. Thornton remarked.

"Sometimes, what people have in common are the things they feel inside. A shared spirit", Elizabeth said as she watched the couple at the piano laughing.

"Jack has always been the moral compass of the boys. The hero. The one to fix the wrongs and help the less fortunate. But this business of being a Mountie, I'm not sure it's really who he's meant to be. Jack has a tendency to follow his heart instead of his business sense. He will most likely wake up one day, and I would hate to see him have entered into a situation that he cannot undo. This, here, is the life he was born to live. When he runs the family company one day, he'll need a strong woman by his side. Someone who can help him in society, host functions, handle the household staff. I don't want to see him regret any rash decisions he may make while he's temporary away as a Mountie."

"I don't think you need to worry about that. Like you said, if Jack follows his heart, he'll do just fine", Elizabeth said. She tried to make her voice sound confident even as doubts crept into her thoughts.

* * *

Elizabeth heard the tires moving on the gravel driveway under her bedroom window. When she heard the car doors slam and the sounds of talking and laughter, she crept out of bed and looked out the window. Jack and Tom laughed and slapped each other on the backs as they said good night to the people in the cars, and stumbled into the house.

Elizabeth had been exhausted after the dinner party, but Tom, so happy to have his older brother home, had enticed Jack to go to the club and meet up with some old buddies for a late night. From the looks of them, Elizabeth guessed that quite a bit of drinking had been involved.

This wasn't the Jack she was used to seeing. All evening he had been at ease with the guests, the fine food and drinks, and the conversations.

Elizabeth realized why she hadn't been able to sleep. Not only was Jack at ease in these surroundings, but he enjoyed them. That worried her more than she wanted to admit.

* * *

Elizabeth slept in late the next morning and then packed her small suitcase. She was going to make one last attempt at talking to Julie before the train left this afternoon to take her and Jack back to Coal Valley.

As she walked down the hallway, she wondered if Jack was up yet, or still sleeping off his late night partying.

"He and Lady Suzanna are in the garden". Mrs. Thornton's voice rang out behind Elizabeth, causing her to stop and turn around.

"Jack. If you're looking for him. He's with Suzanna. She arrived earlier this morning for a visit. They had breakfast already and are enjoying each other's company in the garden."

"Thank you. I don't want to interrupt them, but Jack and I are planning on going to visit my sister, Julie."

"Yes, Jack mentioned that. Jack said your sister's in the wire business. Perhaps, you would like to go visit her by yourself. Jack and Suzanna may be awhile. I'll have the driver bring the car around front for you."

Elizabeth noticed that Mrs. Thornton didn't give her a chance to object.

"Nonsense, mother. Jack will want to go with Elizabeth. And so do I. I am most interested in meeting this sister of hers", Tom said as he approached them.

"Why in the world do you want to meet her sister?", Mrs. Thornton asked.

"I'm interested in the wire business", Tom said with an innocent smile.

* * *

An hour later, Elizabeth, Jack, Tom, and Julie sat at a table for lunch at a small Café in the center of the city. Elizabeth realized almost immediately that it was a mistake to have Tom there. Any thoughts Julie may have had of going back home disappeared the moment Tom greeted her.

Kissing Julie's hand when they were introduced was nothing compared to Tom's comment that he was thrilled and intrigued to meet the beautiful black sheep of the family who elegantly walked on wires.

When Julie confessed that she was afraid of the high wire and had fallen into the net several times, Tom's flirtatious reply of "I wish I were the net" sealed Julie's decision to stay in Hamilton.

As the women got into the car after lunch, Tom paused and put his hand on Jack before the men got into the vehicle.

"It's incredible!", he said with a look of wonder.

"What is?", Jack asked.

"They're perfect for us!", Tom replied with a grin.

* * *

A few hours later, Jack and Elizabeth hurried through the train station with little time to spare. As they had said their goodbyes in the foyer of the Thornton home, Elizabeth thought Jack's mother would never release her hold on him. She had made her son promise to write, dress warm, and stay safe. _My goodness, I'm surprised she didn't remind him to wash behind his ears,_ Elizabeth had thought, as she had rolled her eyes and fidgeted in a hurry to get back to the normalcy of Coal Valley.

Now that they were almost on the train, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry things didn't work out with Julie. I hope your mother will be okay with Julie staying in Hamilton while the circus takes a break between cities", Jack said as they moved down the platform.

"I'll write to her. It's your family I'm more worried about."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you see the way Tom and Julie were looking at each other. I don't think it's a good idea for Tom to be charming her and getting her into trouble. ", Elizabeth said honestly.

"I agree they should probably keep away from each other. But I wouldn't say that Tom would necessarily be a bad influence on her. I think it would be the other way around."

"You would see it that way.", Elizabeth said irritably.

"What is that supposed to mean?", Jack said as he stopped and looked at Elizabeth.

"My sister and I, . . . we don't exactly fit the image your parents have of the 'right kind of people' for their sons."

"That's not true."

"I think it is. That's why your mother asked me if I would be willing to relocate to another teaching position."

"She did? Elizabeth, that's wonderful. That proves that she really likes you."

"How in the world do you see that?!"

"She's thinking that I won't be in Coal Valley forever. She just wants to know if you'll be willingly to change locations if . . . well, if you'll be willing to go with me one day."

"That's not what she was thinking! She doesn't think I'm good enough for you!", Elizabeth cried out, upset by Jack's naivety.

"Did my mother say that?"

"She didn't have to", Elizabeth said stonily.

"Well, why would you think that?"

"She asked if me if I would be willing to take a teaching job in the United States."

"Don't be silly. They don't have Mounties posted in the United States.", Jack said dismissively.

"My point exactly!", Elizabeth practically screamed. "She wants me gone."

"Elizabeth, I'm sure you misunderstood."

"And, I'm sure I didn't", Elizabeth said coldly. _How can he be so naïve about his mother?,_ she thought in disgust.

Elizabeth turned and walked along the platform towards the back of the train.

"Where are you going?" , Jack asked running after her.

"My seat's in coach."

"I have a first-class compartment. You are riding with me", he said sternly.

"Thanks. But I got some thinking to do on the ride home", Elizabeth replied as she climbed up the steps into the train.

* * *

Elizabeth placed her small suitcase on the overhead metal rack and took her seat by the window, squeezing past the legs of the man who had taken the last available aisle seat. Opening her handbag, she pulled out a book and tried to read. Anything to take her mind off this disastrous visit.

She looked up briefly to give her ticket to the conductor when he came by, but other than that she remained sitting, staring at her book as the train pulled out of the station, leaving Hamilton behind. She tried to read but her mind reeled with the events of the last few days.

When the conductor came back and spoke quietly to the man next to her, Elizabeth didn't bother to try and listen to their discreet conversation. It barely registered with her when the man took his suitcase and left the seat, or when she felt the presence of someone taking the seat a few minutes later.

"You haven't turned the page in five minutes. It generally helps with reading a book if you turn the page." His voice was light-hearted.

Elizabeth jerked up her head.

"That seat is taken, Jack.", she said coldly when she saw him sitting next to her.

"I know. By me. I traded for it."

"You traded a first class compartment to sit here?", she said stunned.

"I was lonely", Jack replied with a shrug.

"It's only been fifteen minutes", she said scornfully .

"Fifteen minutes and ten seconds. I missed you," he unashamedly admitted.

"I'm still mad. You can sit here but I'm not talking to you", Elizabeth responded stiffly.

"That's fine" he replied. Jack picked up his newspaper, folded it in half and held it with one hand, his other hand resting on the armrest separating their two seats.

"If you wanted to hold my hand that'd be fine too. It's a little cold and lonely", he remarked.

"Your hand is a little cold and lonely?" she asked scornfully.

"Feel for yourself if you don't believe me", Jack said simply.

 _I am not holding his hand. If he thinks he can just charm me, he is mistaken,_ Elizabeth thought with a huff. Elizabeth was determined to ignore Jack for at least an hour so that he fully realized how mad she was about his mother.

 _But I do love holding his hand_ , she thought wistfully after only ten seconds.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Jack reading the paper. _How is he so darn charming_?

Unable to resist she stared at his hand. He had nice hands. Strong hands when they lifted her onto a horse. Gentle hands when they tucked her stray curls behind her ear. She really liked his hands.

She reached over and placed her hand gently on his. "Well, maybe it's a little cold and lonely", she said begrudgingly.

Jack didn't say anything but kept reading the paper. Thirty seconds later, he lifted her hand and gently pressed it to his lips.

Elizabeth's heart melted.

Her plan to ignore him and remain mad for an hour had lasted less than forty seconds.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I over-reacted. You've been wonderful this whole trip", she admitted as she turned to look at him.

"No more being mad at me?" he asked.

"No more being mad at you", she said with a weak smile.

"Good. Because I can't get my compartment back", he said with a straight face.

When she noticed the twinkle in his eye, she snuggled closer to him.

"Jack, I missed you too. I know I said I wanted to sit apart from you, but I didn't mean it." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Don't go back to your first class compartment even if you can."

"I'm not going anywhere. This is where I belong", he said as he kissed the top of her head. _I never want to go anywhere away from you_ , he thought to himself.

 **Up next: The Cowboy**


	11. Chapter 11- The Cowboy

**Chapter 11 –The Cowboy**

"No breakfast for you this morning?" Jack asked as he walked into the Café and saw Elizabeth sitting at a table with just a cup of coffee.

"Not this morning", she replied pleasantly as she motioned for him to join her.

"You always have a big breakfast to get you through the school day", he noted as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Just not hungry," Elizabeth said with a shrug.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. Go ahead and order something for yourself. I'll keep you company for a while."

"Why aren't you hungry?"

"I've already eaten" she answered simply.

Jack looked curiously at her and then at the table.

"No utensils. No bowl. No plate. No crumbs", he stated as he took notice of the condition of the table.

When Elizabeth didn't answer, Jack stared at her, waiting for a response.

"This is not the scene of a crime. You can stop with your investigative skills", Elizabeth instructed him with smile and slight exasperation.

Jack raised his eyebrows and gave her a quizzical look.

"What?", Elizabeth said defensively.

"I'm waiting for the truth."

"Fine. If you must know. Remember that bag of candy you bought in Hamilton and gave me on the train yesterday?"

"Yes. Jellybeans."

"Well, I ate some this morning. And now, I'm not hungry ", she said simply.

"How many did you eat"", Jack asked accusatorily.

"49", she admitted sheepishly.

"49?!"

"They're so good!" , Elizabeth said eagerly. "I had never had them before! They don't sell them in small towns."

"Well you can't have them for breakfast every morning."

"I know ", Elizabeth said sadly. "They're all gone. I finished the bag."

Jack chuckled. "So you didn't care for the lobster bisque or the oysters on half shell we had in Hamilton, but you love the jellybeans?"

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? I'm a simple country girl."

Jack grinned as he stared at her for a moment. "You looked nothing like a simple country girl when you descended the staircase for the dinner party."

"Did you like my dress?", she asked, fishing for a compliment

"I did. Although somehow I don't think you brought it in that small bag from Coal Valley. I'm still not sure where it came from."

"Women are allowed their little secrets", Elizabeth said with a smile.

"You looked very beautiful. It suited you. Then again, just about everything suits you. . . . even a pale blue dress stained with iced tea."

When he said things like that, Elizabeth felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

* * *

Jack walked into the livery after his morning rounds and saw the other man removing a saddle from a large powerful looking horse. The animal's healthy coat was a shiny deep brown. Out of habit and training, Jack quickly assessed the man. 6'3" to 6'4, 190 to 200 lbs., muscular built, brown hair, hadn't shaved in a few days, tanned skin.

"That's a nice looking horse . . and a gorgeous saddle", Jack remarked to the other man as he noticed the leather saddle with intricate tooling.

"Thanks. They've always served me well."

"I've never seen you around here before."

"Just arrived in town ten minutes ago. By your uniform, I'm guessing you're the town constable."

"That I am. Constable Jack Thornton", he said as he extended his hand to the man, and looked up at him.

"Clint Blackthorn"

"You planning on staying in Coal Valley for long?"

"Not sure yet. Can you point me in the direction of the saloon?"

"It's just down the street. Can't miss it. Coal Valley's a small town. But the saloon's not open just yet. It's used as a school during the day."

"That's where I'm headed."

"The school?"

"Yep", Clint said as he turned and headed out of the livery.

Jack quickly led his horse to a stall, and took off the saddle, placing it on the saddle rack before he hurried after the man. "Can I ask what business you have with a school full of children?", he asked when he caught up to him and met his stride.

"Well, a school full of children is generally where you'll find the school teacher", the man said with a smile as he continued to walk.

"Yes. That's true. But what business do you have with the town's school teacher?"

"She may be the town's school teacher, but she's my fiancée", Clint said as he smiled and walked towards the Saloon.

Jack stopped in his tracks _. I must have heard incorrectly. He must be in the wrong town._

The Saloon doors opened and the children came running out, eager to be free of the confines of school for the rest of the day. Jack watched as Elizabeth came to the door and looked out, smiling at the happy students. Her smile faltered when she noticed Clint walking towards her.

"Elizabeth, I'm here! Look at you! More beautiful than ever", Clint remarked as he picked her up in his strong arms and twirled her around as if she weighed no more than a feather.

Elizabeth was speechless.

"You've grown your hair longer. It's nice", Clint noted as he set her down and picked up her long braid and gave it an affectionate tug.

Jack watched in astonishment as the cowboy held Elizabeth with such familiarity that it was obvious he had done it many times before.

When Clint planted a long kiss on Elizabeth's lips, Jack was flabbergasted.

"Well, I'll let you two catch up", a stunned Jack said when Elizabeth moved her face away from Clint and looked at Jack.

"No, Jack", she said quickly.

Jack ignored her plea and walked away.

"What are you doing here?", Elizabeth demanded as she untangled herself from Clint's arms.

"I found out where you were posted. And I just had to see you."

"I thought you were in Montana."

"It turns out life as a cowboy is quite empty without you."

"I really don't care how empty it is! What in the world possessed you to come here and disrupt my life?", Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Elizabeth, is that any way to speak to your fiancé?"

"Oh my goodness. Come into the Saloon so we can talk", she said irritably.

* * *

While Clint explained how he should have never let Elizabeth go, and how much he regretted not having her in his life, she barely listened. _What must Jack think?_

"Elizabeth, did you hear what I said? I said my feelings haven't changed."

"You barely even have feelings. Except for horses or for what you want. It ended with us years ago."

"Well then I'm just going to have to do whatever it takes to win you back."

"Why don't you save yourself some time. Get back on your horse and go back to Montana", Elizabeth suggested.

* * *

Elizabeth left Clint at the Saloon while she went to talk to Jack. She was hurrying down the street, when she saw him leaving the jail.

"Jack, please wait. Please let me explain", she called out to him.

"I have things to do, Elizabeth. And it looks like so do you", Jack said motioning over Elizabeth's shoulder

Elizabeth swirled around and huffed in frustration when she saw Clint coming towards her.

"Jack –", Elizabeth turned around, but Jack was already walking away.

"I thought you were getting yourself a room?", she angrily addressed Clint.

"I did, and now that the barkeep at the saloon is back on duty, how about you walk me back and let me get you a drink"

"I'll walk you back, but I am not getting a drink with you", Elizabeth said in frustration.

* * *

"You can't avoid me forever", Elizabeth said to Jack as she walked in the jail two days later and saw him sitting at his desk.

"No. Just until you ride off into the sunset with your fiancé Cowboy Clint", he replied, looking at her with hard eyes.

"I'm not going to ride off into the sunset with Cowboy Clint, and he is not my fiancé'", Elizabeth informed Jack, her tone matter-of-fact.

"Maybe you should tell him that. He seems to think you're engaged", Jack responded coldly. "I've got to finish my paperwork, Elizabeth, so if you'll excuse me –"

Elizabeth quickly started speaking before Jack could totally dismiss her. "I was 16. My mother was working hard. I was working hard. Julie was a handful. Viola was being Viola . Clint asked me to marry him, and I stupidly said yes." The words rushed out of her mouth.

"Did you love him?"

"At the time, I thought I might. I was 16 years old. What did I know about love? Then I decided I wanted to be a teacher and he decided he was going to Montana. He didn't want me to go with him."

"So he wounded you, not the other way around?"

"At first, yes. It hurt to be discarded, but very soon I was grateful that he left. I realized my feelings for him were more about comfort than actual love."

"I can't believe you didn't tell me. After you accused me of keeping secrets."

"I'm sorry, Jack. It was so long ago I don't even think about it. So much has changed since then."

"I didn't ask him to come here", she added when Jack just looked at her with disappointment.

"Yet here he is."

"Only until he realizes there's no point to it."

"He didn't seem to realize that when he was picking you up and twirling you around, or when he had dinner with you, or when he kissed you, or when he touches you", he added angrily as he remembered how Clint seemed to find plenty of excuses to put a hand on Elizabeth.

"Jack, I know you're disappointed in me. I'm sorry. But I hope you see that I want nothing to do with him."

"I've got work to do, Elizabeth", Jack said coldly as the door opened and some miners came in.

* * *

Three days later, Clint was still in town and had become something of a celebrity. Jack was disgusted. Everywhere he went, he ran into the man or someone talking about him. Jack couldn't escape the townspeople's infatuation with the cowboy who wore spurs, told stories of life on a cattle ranch, and competed in rodeos.

Suzanne Gowen was thrown into confusion. She flirted with both men, but was obviously torn between concentrating her attentions on the wealthy Jack or the exciting larger-than-life Clint. When Jack declined her third invitation to dinner, she decided to focus solely on the cowboy.

* * *

As Jack rode into town after rounds, he was struck by the odd sight. Children, miners, and townspeople lined the street where someone had placed a row of barrels down the center. Jack pulled his horse to a stop and watched the scene. When Ned Yost yelled "Go" and pushed down on his stopwatch, the crowd screamed and cheered as Clint weaved his horse through the barrels at breakneck speed.

Jack turned away in disgust and quietly led his horse to the livery.

* * *

Jack was still brushing down his horse, when Clint entered the livery.

"Hello there Constable. I didn't see you watching me showing the town some rodeo tricks."

"Yeah, I guessed I missed that."

"You do any trick riding yourself?"

"Can't say I have."

"You ever broken in a horse?"

"Nope", Jack replied.

"Ever done any steer roping?"

"No."

"You sure you even know how to ride a horse, rich boy?"

Jack looked at him with disgust. "I've been riding for years."

"I mean real riding. Not just meandering through the wilderness in your fancy uniform."

"Being a Mountie is not 'meandering through the wilderness", but for your information, I also played polo for a few years."

"Yeah, I can see you playing polo. Having tea after you hit a ball across the pretty grass. Of course, hitting a little ball ain't exactly like herding cattle in a round up, now is it?"

"I can ride just fine", Jack said testily.

"You been out doing your rounds just now?"

"Yes", Jack responded stiffly

"You ain't got a speck of dirt on that uniform of yours. Can't be too hard of work", the man remarked with a shrug.

"Just because I don't come back stinking like a cowhand doesn't mean I don't work hard. I can loan you a bar of soap sometime if you're interested. Apparently you missed seeing them for sale at the mercantile."

"The women don't seem to mind. I find they like the scent of a real man.",Clint answered confidently.

Jack angrily grabbed a bucket and filled it with oats for his horse.

"You do that investigation stuff sometime? Stuck in your office with paperwork? Maybe that's why you ain't so good on a horse", Clint observed.

"I am fine on a horse!", Jack said through gritted teeth.

"Just saying, you haven't earned yours spurs yet, pretty boy."

"Is there a point to this conversation?", Jack asked, his irritation growing.

"Just making friendly conversation."

As Jack finished with his horse and started to walk away, Clint spoke up again.

"You can't rope. Can't break-in a horse. Can't herd cattle. Frankly, I can't imagine why you think Elizabeth would be interested in you", he said in disbelief with a shake of his head.

* * *

"He lassoed her!", Jack said to Abigail as they sat in the kitchen the next day after the last of the supper crowd had been served "He actually rode up on a horse behind Elizabeth and lassoed her while she was walking down the middle of the street!"

"He does have a way about him", Abigail agreed.

"He wears spurs. He ropes steer. He rides in a rodeo when he's not on cattle drive. Is there anything he can't do? He takes over every room he's in. The students are in awe of him."

"Jack, she's not interested in him. You're good-hearted and loyal, and most importantly, you're the man with whom she wants to be in a courtship. You need to go talk to her again. Let her explain more."

"There's nothing for her to explain. She wasn't honest with me. And now her old flame is back in town to woo her."

* * *

The pinging of the bullets hitting the tin didn't do much to lessen Jack's anger as he shot bullet after bullet at the innocent cans lined up on the tree stump at the edge of town.

"Care for a little competition?"

Jack didn't turn towards the sound of Clint's voice, but began reloading his weapon.

"I think we're already in competition", he replied dryly.

"Must be new for you."

"Why do you say that?", Jack questioned.

"Pretty rich boy like you. Probably used to getting whatever you want. All your money can't buy Elizabeth."

"And all your fancy cowboy antics can't corral her."

Clint chuckled. "You got that right."

* * *

"You're not so bad with that weapon", Clint conceded after the men had fired several rounds. After days of insecurity creeping into his usual confidence, Jack was pleased to see that he had shot better than the cowboy.

"Of course, Elizabeth never did like guns. But I'm guessing you knew that about her, seeing as you two are supposed to be so close", Clint said with a smirk as he turned and walked away.

* * *

"Jack", Elizabeth looked up startled from her desk.

"Elizabeth", he said stiffly.

"Did you want to talk?", Elizabeth finally asked when Jack just stood there trying to decide if he should just walk back out or speak with her.

"Did you keep his ring?", he blurted out.

"What?", she said, the confusion evident in her voice.

"Did you keep his engagement ring?", Jack asked angrily

"No. Why would you ask that?"

"He said you didn't give it back."

"I didn't. Jack it was a simple band he had weaved out of hay. I threw it out. I told you it was nothing serious. We were just kids. He's just trying to upset you."

"Why would he be trying to upset _me_?"

"Because he knows you're the one I want. He came here to find something he lost years ago. But he can't. I had already moved on just a couple months after he left. We kept in contact for a few years through letters and when he came back to visit his family, but it was never the same. It was just friendship."

Jack looked down at his hat in his hand before speaking. "I want you to think long and hard about your feelings before you make a decision you might regret."

"If that's what you want, then I will", Elizabeth said agreeably.

"It is."

"Okay. I'm done."

"Excuse me?", Jack looked puzzled.

"I'm done. I thought about it and I've made a decision"

"Elizabeth, two seconds is not long", Jack said in mild annoyance.

"I don't concur with your assessment of time in this case. For me, it was two seconds too long. Jack, I know who I want. You."

"You need to think about it some more."

"I'm not some prisoner you can order around. I've been thinking of being with you since the day we met. I don't need any more time. You need to decide if I'm the one you want."

* * *

Jack placed his items on the counter and waited for Mr. Yost to get his mail. "Here's a package for you, Constable", Ned said as handed him a small parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with a string. As Jack paid for his purchases, he looked at the package curiously. It wasn't until he read the return address in the upper left hand corner that he remembered about the telegram he had sent a week earlier. As he left the mercantile, he thought about how much had changed in the last week.

* * *

"We need to talk". Elizabeth walked into the Saloon and sat down at Clint's table.

"I'd love to."

"You need to leave town", Elizabeth said crisply.

"Elizabeth, I'm here to win you back."

"Either you fell off your horse and hit your head too many times, or you sat too close to some campfires and overcooked your brain. Listen to me carefully. I am not resuming a relationship with you. I am not marrying you. I am not leaving Coal Valley with you."

"We have a history. You're the only thing that has every felt real to me, Elizabeth."

"That was a long long time ago. We were young. Why are you really here?"

Clint paused before answering. "I was courting someone and well, it didn't work out. I started to think about when things were simpler. When I didn't feel like I was getting older and missed an opportunity. It was so easy when we were young."

"Clint. You'll find the right person for you. It's just not me. And we both know that."

They were silent for a moment.

"Are you in love with him? The Mountie."

"I don't know. I think so. I want a relationship with him. I've never felt this way about anyone before."

"Ouch. That hurts."

"You'll survive."

"We were good together, Elizabeth."

"You are quite something. You were there for me when I needed you. As a friend. As someone to give me hope after my father died. I have good memories of us."

"You barely know this pretty boy Mountie. I've seen him. He's from money. He's not the same as you and me."

"He makes me happy. He respects me. He makes me feel - he makes me feel special. All I know is that l think about him all the time."

* * *

"You read books don't you?", Clint asked as he walked into the jail and saw Jack sitting at his desk.

"Excuse me?" Jack responded as he put down his weapon which he had been cleaning.

"You like reading books?"

"Yeah." Jack wondered where this conversation was going.

"Elizabeth likes books. Always has. I could never get into them. I guess you got that in common. All your schooling."

Jack didn't know what to say so he just sat there.

"I'm leaving town", Clint informed him.

"Couldn't find any steer to brand or did we run out of calves to rope?", Jack asked sarcastically.

Clint smiled. "She told me it was time to leave and it finally got through to me. I felt like one of her students being reprimanded. Except instead of sending me to the corner or making me stay after school, she told me to leave town.

It was Jack's turn to chuckle, as he imagined Elizabeth with her hands on her hips ordering the much larger Clint out of town.

"She says you make her feel special. Something to do with feeling all anxious and calm at the same time. I don't have a clue what she was talking about."

 _He may not have a clue, but I know exactly what she means_ , Jack thought.

"Seems like she's choosing a mule over a stallion if you ask me. No offense."

"None taken", Jack said with raised eyebrows.

Clint paused before continuing. "She's a good woman. But she's right. We have very little in common anymore. We once did. But not anymore. But we go back a long way. If you hurt her, and she wants me to come back to mess you up, I will."

"I'll consider myself warned."

"Best of luck to you. And Jack, don't be afraid to get your pretty uniform dirty, rich boy."

* * *

The envelope with Jack's name on it was lying on his desk when he returned to the jail after dinner. He recognized Elizabeth's handwriting on the outside. He picked it up and hesitated for a moment before opening it. _Is_ _it another apology or a letter telling me that she doesn't want me anymore? Please don't be the latter._

Jack sat down and pulled out the contents from the envelope. He was surprised to see three full pages of handwriting.

 ** _Dear Jack,_**

 _ **You once asked me if there weren't things in my life that I haven't told you. You were right. There are things. I don't want any secrets between us**. _

Jack started reading curiously. Before long, he was grinning as he read Elizabeth's long list of secrets.

 ** _1\. I accidentally set fire to a haystack when I was 10 because I was trying to start a fire using a magnifying glass and the sun._**

 ** _2\. When I was in 8_ _th_ _grade, Billy Stevens paid me 5 cents to do his homework for him for a week. When my mom found out, she punished me and made me write a letter to the teacher._**

 ** _3\. When I was 14, I borrowed one of Viola's favorite hair ribbons and lost it. She looked for it for days and I've never told her it was me._**

 ** _4\. Your mom scares me._**

Jack let out a chuckle when he read number 4.

 ** _5\. Sometimes I wear the same pair of socks two days in a row because I hate doing laundry._**

 ** _6\. I ate all the chocolates in the candy dish in the parlor at your home in Hamilton._**

 ** _7\. Your brother Tom bought me the dress I wore at your family's dinner party._**

 ** _8\. I stole a pencil in third grade because I didn't have any money and I wanted to write a story._**

 ** _9\. I detest Suzanne Gowen. (You probably know that already.)_**

 ** _10\. I'm jealous of Lady Suzanna._**

 ** _11\. I watched out my window when you came home from your night out in Hamilton and I was worried that you enjoyed your life there so much that you wouldn't want to come back to Coal Valley._**

Jack stopped smiling and thought about their time in Hamilton. He had enjoyed it, but it was just for a visit. It had never crossed his mind that Elizabeth would have been worried about him wanting to stay there.

 ** _12\. I forgot to pay an overdue library fine in my hometown. (I still need to do this.)_**

 ** _13\. My favorite book is Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" . One time when you said my name, I almost called you Mr. Darcy by accident._**

Jack smiled when he remembered how the novel ends with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy getting married.

 ** _14\. I hated the braised veal with current jelly that your mom served even though I said it was delicious._**

 ** _15\. I like my sister Julie better than Viola._**

 ** _16\. I think the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is boring but I make my students read it anyway._**

 ** _17\. I'm afraid of spiders._**

When Jack read number 18, he stopped smiling _._

 ** _18\. When my father died, I was so mad at God that I didn't go to church for four months._**

Jack took a deep breath before continuing as he remembered how hard Elizabeth's life must have been.

 ** _19\. I was glad when your right arm was injured instead of your left arm because you needed my help. I'm sorry, that's a selfish thing to think. (And I didn't gulp because of the sight of the wound. I gulped because you have a really nice looking arm.)_**

 ** _20\. I think that you're really brave and it scares me that you'll get hurt._**

 ** _21\. You are the only man to ever make me feel like I'm standing in the sand at the edge of an ocean. I feel all nervous and excited because I know a huge wave is going to wash over me and leave me feeling thrilled_.**

* * *

Elizabeth was sitting at the small table in the kitchen when Jack came in from the Café. He had barely said two words to her all week, and she hadn't seen him since she had left the letter on his desk yesterday. She had hoped that he would have stopped by after Clint had finally left town yesterday, but he hadn't. Until now.

"I thought maybe you'd like to have breakfast with me", Jack said pleasantly.

Elizabeth looked startled. "I'd love to", she said apprehensively.

"We can eat in here, if it's okay with you", Jack informed her when Elizabeth started to get up.

"Okay. I'll make us something. I'm not that good at cooking, but I can whip up some eggs and toast", she remarked as she moved to the cupboard, eager to spend time with Jack.

"Actually, I brought breakfast for us."

"You brought breakfast?"

"I ordered it last week before everything got so muddled. It arrived in the mail yesterday."

"You ordered us breakfast in the mail?", Elizabeth questioned with a curious frown as she sat back down at the table.

"I didn't plan on it being for breakfast. But now I'm thinking it might be a nice way to start things back on track", he said with a smile as he sat down across from her.

"This is completely inappropriate", Elizabeth grinned when she saw what Jack had brought.

"Who would eat such a thing for breakfast?" Jack asked with an air of bewilderment and a shake of his head.

"Both of our reputations are on the line here. What would students or townspeople think of us?"

"That is a good point. I think we should keep this a secret", Jack laughed.

"A secret?", she frowned.

"Between us. Not from each other", Jack said with a smile as he reached out and took her hand.

"I can't believe you did this for me", Elizabeth beamed as she looked at Jack.

"I told you once before that you're the one for me. I meant it, Elizabeth." Jack's voice was serious and gentle.

"Jack, you're the one for me too. I'm so sorry, about everything."

"It's okay. You don't have to say anymore. . . . Now, which one of these tastes the best?", Jack asked cheerfully as he looked at the array of colors.

"Oooh, here try a red one", Elizabeth said with a big grin as she picked up a jellybean and handed it to Jack.

 **Up next : Chapter 12. Return to Hamilton**

 **Dear Readers, Thank you for all your reviews. If you are a guest reviewer, I cannot send you a personal response, but please know that I appreciate your reviews.**

 **P.S. Did you catch the reason for the 49 Jellybeans?**


	12. Chapter 12 - Back to Hamilton

**Chapter 12 - Back to Hamilto** n

Jack couldn't figure out what was going on in Elizabeth's head.

He had never before thought that Elizabeth would be the insecure type, but three days after Clint left, she had become very . . well . . . " _clingy"_ was the best word Jack could think of to describe her.

Everywhere they went, Elizabeth insisted on holding Jack's hand. He could handle it when they walked around the pond, or late in the evenings when it was dusk. In fact, he enjoyed it. But she insisted on holding his hand _all the time_. Even when he was carrying a package, or holding his horse's reins as they walked, or carrying her books for her, Elizabeth found a way to intertwine her fingers in his free hand.

Jack remembered how he had once told her that his hand was cold and lonely without hers, but this was getting ridiculous, he thought.

He sat at the Café table across from Elizabeth, their hands resting on the tablecloth while they waited for Abigail to bring them dinner. Jack swore that his hand was starting to lose its feeling, or maybe it was just that the more she held his hand, the more trapped he felt.

As Elizabeth told Jack about her day at school, she seemed to be totally ignorant that he desperately wanted his hand back.

 _I want my hand back. I seriously want my hand back,_ Jack thought as he looked at her smiling face _. How badly will it hurt her feelings if I tell her to let go?_

"Here you go. My famous tomato soup. Enjoy", Abigail said as she placed the bowls in front of them.

Jack looked expectedly at Elizabeth. _Release my hand!_ he thought, wishing she could read his mind. He made a slight motion to pull his hand back, but Elizabeth seemed oblivious and continued to grip it.

"Go ahead, Jack. I'm going to let mine cool off for a minute". Elizabeth motioned for Jack to begin eating his soup as she placed her other hand on top of Jack's. Her soft delicate hands encased his right hand as she tenderly caressed his skin with her thumb.

Jack sighed slightly and accepted that sometimes in a relationship, it's best just to keep thoughts to oneself. Picking up the spoon, he blew gently on the soup and began to eat. He had eaten three spoonfuls of the steaming soup and was just thinking _This is what it must be like to be a one-handed man,_ when Elizabeth let go of his hand abruptly.

"I knew it!", Elizabeth yelled.

A startled Jack dropped his spoon in the soup. Red splashes of liquid bounced out of the bowl and landed on his jacket and fell onto the white tablecloth.

 _What just happened? What just happened?! ,_ he thought in bewilderment as he looked at Elizabeth, who had roughly pushed back her chair and was getting up from the table.

"I knew it! You scoundrel!", she exclaimed as she turned and stormed across the Café towards the kitchen.

Jack tried to ignore the curious stares and whispers of the other diners as they took in the situation. Quickly, he picked up a napkin and tried to blot up the tomato soup spots on his jacket. Before he had a chance to go after Elizabeth, he saw her returning. _What in the world just happened?_

"Sit down and start writing!", she ordered him as she placed sheets of paper and a pencil on the table in front of him.

Jack looked at her with puzzlement. "Elizabeth, I have no idea what is going on", he exclaimed.

Elizabeth's crossed arms indicated her irritation. "You've been keeping secrets from me!"

"What are you talking about?" The bewilderment was evident in his voice.

"You're ambidextrous! You could have stitched up your own arm."

"How did you know?", Jack asked with a sheepish smile as he sat down and looked up at her.

"The soup! You ate it with your left hand without spilling a single drop!"

Jack snickered. "What made you suspicious in the first place?"

"When you caught the baseball with your left hand and then threw it back perfectly to Gabe", Elizabeth said, obviously proud of her investigative skills.

Jack smiled as he remembered that three days earlier, he and Elizabeth had been walking arm and arm down the street near the town boys when a wayward baseball had flown through the air at them. He had deftly caught the ball before it could hit Elizabeth.

"So, this whole time, these last few days, you've been purposely trying to get me to use my left hand to see if I'm secretly ambidextrous?"

"Well, of course. I'm actually surprised you didn't figure that out. Why else did you think I suddenly had to hold your right hand all the time?", Elizabeth asked incredulously.

Jack just shrugged and gave her another sheepish grin.

"Goodness, Jack, I'm not clingy", Elizabeth said as she rolled her eyes at him.

"But I am curious. Now start writing. I want every secret. I told you mine", she instructed as she pointed to the paper.

* * *

Jack quietly ate his now-cold soup, glancing nervously at Elizabeth as she read his list of secrets. When she gasped, he knew she had just read number 15.

"The whole town?!" she whispered hoarsely, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Not the whole town. Just everyone you sewed for, and Ned Yost, and the barkeep."

"I sewed for every single miner in this town!", she whispered again as she surreptitiously looked around the Café. "They all were in on it?"

Jack nodded and gave her a weak smile.

"Jack, all that money you spent", she lamented. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I l- ", Jack stopped himself from saying anymore. He wasn't going to say it for the first time here, in a tomato splattered uniform, with a crowd of diners as witnesses.

Elizabeth, her eyes looking again at the list of Jack's secrets, didn't notice at first that Jack had stopped in mid word.

"Jack, what did you say?", she asked curiously when she realized he had stopped talking.

"I - I liked the idea of courting you", he quickly responded. _Much better answer given the location,_ he thought.

Elizabeth looked at the list and then looked at Jack. "I'm not so sure. After what you did to poor Charlotte Blake in fourth grade, you are quite the devious boy", she said with raised eyebrows.

Jack laughed. "She deserved the frog in her pocket. And don't tell anyone. I blamed my brother Tom."

"It will be our secret", Elizabeth said with a smile.

* * *

The two telegrams arrived a week later on an early Friday morning. Julie's telegram to Elizabeth was much like Julie, carefree and without much substance.

 **Small trouble with Tom's car. No plans to continue with circus because I am hospitalized.**

Mr. Thornton's telegram to Jack was more direct.

 **Come home at once. Tom in trouble with Thatcher girl. Unacceptable.**

* * *

When Jack and Elizabeth arrived in Hamilton, they went directly from the train station to the hospital, where Julie was sitting up in bed admiring a large bouquet of flowers which Tom had had delivered.

"He can't come himself because apparently your parents have forbidden it", Julie informed Jack harshly.

Julie's explanation that the car "mishap" wasn't serious and that Mr. Thornton was over-reacting did nothing to quell Elizabeth's frustration with her sister. It was decided that Elizabeth would stay with Julie for the afternoon while Jack went to the Thornton home and discussed the situation with his family.

By the time Elizabeth arrived at the Thorntons, she was exhausted from the travel and from listening to Julie extoll the virtues of Tom.

"My father is sending Tom to New York and Boston on business. He'll be gone for at least a month", Jack informed Elizabeth as they walked in the garden.

"I've convinced Julie to go back home to mother at least for a short while", Elizabeth responded. "Perhaps some time apart will stifle their infatuation with each other."

"We can only hope so. When does she get out of the hospital?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. I'll pick her up and take her directly to the train station to make sure she gets on the train", Elizabeth responded with determination.

* * *

The next morning after an elegant breakfast of fresh herring, omelets, and scones, Elizabeth excused herself from the family to go to the hospital. As much as she would have liked to accept Jack's offer to accompany her, Elizabeth couldn't possibly insist after Mrs. Thornton spoke up and mentioned that she hoped that Jack would spend time with the family and run some errands for her.

On her way out the door, Tom slipped Elizabeth a small box of chocolates and an envelope. "See that she gets it, okay?", he whispered.

Elizabeth looked at Tom with raised eyebrows.

"It's candy, Elizabeth. Not a diamond ring", he said glibly.

"And besides, you owe me", he added.

"How in the world do I owe you?"

"Do I need to remind you of one very expensive coral dress that practically made you swoon when you tried it on?"

"Fine, I'll be your messenger. But just this once", Elizabeth said begrudgingly as she left for the hospital.

* * *

The train had been delayed by more than two hours and Elizabeth refused to leave the station until it had departed with Julie securely aboard and headed out of Hamilton. _Keeping her away from Tom is harder than trying to corral a litter of kittens!_ she thought in exasperation.

When Elizabeth arrived back at the Thorntons, the large house was empty except for the household staff. Leaving instructions to be woken up in an hour, Elizabeth retreated to the guest room.

"Is Jack home?", Elizabeth asked Ashley when the maid came to wake her around 4:00 pm.

"Sorry, miss. He's still out. "

"I don't suppose you know when he's expected to return."

"I can't say, miss. I believe he's at Lady Suzanna's."

Elizabeth waited another hour before finally deciding to go to the telegraph office to send word to her mother. If her mother was waiting at the train station to pick up Julie, there would be no chance for Julie to turn around and come back to Hamilton. _Who knows what Tom said in that note?_ _He could have enticed her to do anything._

* * *

Jack frowned when he arrived home after visiting the Beachem residence. He had always enjoyed the company of the Beachem family, but now that he was a Mountie something had changed. Jack couldn't help but compare his life in Coal Valley and Elizabeth with his life in Hamilton. Elizabeth was more headstrong and loyal than any woman he knew. At the same time, she had less money and social status than any woman he had ever considered courting.

Elizabeth was coming in the front door after her trip to the telegraph office when Jack came down the grand staircase. "I was worried I would miss you", he said with a smile as he approached her.

Elizabeth noticed he had changed his clothes since earlier in the day. "Are you going out?"

"Tom and I are meeting some friends at the club."

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, why not? My mother said she wanted to take you out to dinner to spend some time getting to know you, so I figured I'd go out with the boys."

"But you haven't been home all day. You spent all afternoon with Suzanna."

"It wasn't all afternoon. You were at the hospital and then the train station with Julie. My mother asked me to bring some charity items to the Beachems for a collection. Suzanna was there and she wanted to talk about her brother. She needed a friend. I've been home for half an hour but you've been out."

Elizabeth scowled as she took off her coat and handed it to the butler.

"Elizabeth, what's wrong?", Jack asked.

"Suzanna seems to always be around to visit with you or need a friend." The annoyance was obvious in Elizabeth's voice.

"Elizabeth, I have never given you any reason not to trust me. Suzanna and I are just good friends. And there's no reason why I shouldn't go out with other friends tonight. We won't head back to Coal Valley until Monday morning."

"I'm leaving tomorrow."

"What? Why?", Jack questioned.

"I have to get back to work."

"I wasn't planning on us leaving until Monday. My parents want me to meet some business associates tomorrow night for drinks at the club. I thought you might like to go. And Suzanna has invited us over to her house tomorrow afternoon"

Elizabeth paused for a moment.

"I've seen you with your friends", she finally said in terse voice as she looked at Jack.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You drink and laugh and stay out late."

"So what? I have fun with them. I don't know when I'll be back in town again."

"You like the lifestyle."

"What is wrong with that?", he asked perplexed.

"The same man who eats hot dogs on the train and sleeps in a jail cell isn't the same man who goes to the club with his friends and eats lobster bisque and peach melba.

"It's all part of who I am." Jack said in exasperation

"But it's not who I am. This isn't who I am. I don't want all this".

"There was a time when you wanted to live in Hamilton, and go to museums and lectures and libraries!"

"But not all this! I wanted to live in Hamilton to grow, not to change into someone else. Not to become a socialite instead of a teacher!", Elizabeth cried out.

"Elizabeth, you're being silly. I'm just going out for a few drinks." Jack said in frustration

"Go. Go out with your friends", Elizabeth said resignedly as she saw Tom coming down the staircase.

* * *

Dinner with Jack's mother was a disaster. Mrs. Thornton had taken one look at Elizabeth's outfit and decided they should eat at home rather than dine at one of the usual establishments which the Thorntons frequented. When Elizabeth feebly suggested somewhere less formal than the restaurants where the Thorntons dined, Mrs. Thornton responded that she had no desire to see the "immigrant-ridden" sections of the city.

By the time dessert was served, Elizabeth's mood had changed from nervousness to anger. Jack's mother had mentioned Lady Suzanna, with an emphasis on the 'Lady', at least five times. Jack's family obligations and social status had been brought up seven times. And Elizabeth's lack of social status had been hinted at more times than Elizabeth could count.

Elizabeth, who had barely touched the braised veal with currant jelly, had a throbbing headache by the time Mr. Thornton entered the dining room to check in on them.

"Are you in love with our son?"

Elizabeth nearly choked on her sip of wine at the boldness of Mr. Thornton's question.

She stared at him in astonishment.

"Has my son told you that he loves you?", Mrs. Thornton demanded to know.

"That is an inappropriate question", Elizabeth replied trying to maintain her composure.

"I am his mother and I think it is a very fair question", Mrs. Thornton responded indignantly.

"Well I find it inappropriate." Elizabeth's response was curt.

Mr. Thornton placed his hand on his wife's shoulder in an attempt to quell her rising anger.

"I have seen how you look at him. If you truly care about Jack, you will encourage him to see that his life is in Hamilton", Mr. Thornton remarked when he realized that his wife was getting nowhere with her agenda to get Jack back home.

"I care a great deal about Jack. Do not ever accuse me of feeling otherwise." Elizabeth said angrily.

"Your concern for him should lead you to make the right decision about his future."

"He's a good Mountie and it's what he wants to do. I am not going to try to convince him otherwise", Elizabeth exclaimed in disgust.

"As I've said, Jack belongs here. He has so many family and friends here in Hamilton", Mrs. Thornton mentioned.

"He has a lot of friends in Coal Valley also", Elizabeth informed Jack's mother.

"I'm sure that the citizens of Coal Valley are appreciative of him, and he takes pleasure in helping them, but I wouldn't go as far as to say that Jack is friends with coal miners and simple townspeople. I'm sure they are all nice acquaintances, but friends? I don't think so."

"Perhaps our definition of friends is different, Mrs. Thornton", Elizabeth said coldly. "I don't believe that a pedigree or bank account is required."

"One day Jack will run Thornton shipping. He understands the necessary connections to have for a successful company", Mr. Thornton said insistently.

"I'm surprised that you would want a man with so many flaws to run your company", Elizabeth replied as she removed her napkin from her lap and set it on the table.

"Flaws? What flaws does my son have? He doesn't have any flaws.", Mrs. Thornton said indignantly.

"You obviously think he does. You don't think he's a good judge of character or that he has the intelligence to make the right decisions for himself", Elizabeth said coolly as she stood up.

Mrs. Thornton was temporarily speechless.

"If you'll excuse me. I'll be leaving in the morning and I have a lot of packing to do", Elizabeth said stiffly as she walked out of the room without waiting for a reply.

"Why that little –"

"Careful, dear. Don't say anything you might regret."

"A lot of packing? That girl barely has two dresses to her name."

"I believe she was being flippant", Mr. Thornton said as he wondered for just a split second if perhaps he had been wrong about Elizabeth Thatcher. Perhaps she was the perfect match for Jack after all. Before he could dwell on that thought for too long, he pushed it from his mind.

* * *

Elizabeth was throwing her things in her suitcase when she heard the knock on the door.

"Come in."

"I understand that you are leaving tomorrow morning, Miss. Do you need any help with packing?", Ashley asked as she entered the room.

Elizabeth gave the maid a weak smile.

"You know as well as I do, Ashley, that I don't have very many things. I just said that to get away from Mrs. Thornton before I told her what I really think of her and her meddling. I would like some Bayer Aspirin if they have any."

Five minutes later, Ashley returned with two small pills and a glass of water.

"How long have you worked for the Thorntons?", Elizabeth asked as she gratefully took the aspirin and water.

"Five years. I started when I was 17."

"I'm surprised you don't keep a bottle of aspirin with you at all times. . . or at least a bottle of liquor" Elizabeth said wryly.

Ashley laughed. "They're not so bad. They love their sons and just want what's best for them."

Elizabeth paused for a moment before asking what she had been thinking. "Have the Thorntons always reacted so harshly to Jack's female friends?"

"No. Not at all", Ashley remarked.

As she started to walk out the door, she turned to Elizabeth and added simply ,"But then Jack wasn't in love with any of them."

* * *

It was past midnight when Elizabeth heard the car pull into the gravel driveway under her bedroom window. She lay in bed listening as Jack tried to hush Tom's loud laugh as the men walked down the hallway outside her room on their way to their own rooms.

Elizabeth knew that she didn't fit neatly into Jack's life as a Mountie or his life as a wealthy businessman. And Jack didn't fit neatly into her life as a small town schoolteacher. At least not the one she had once imagined for herself.

As much as Elizabeth wanted to believe that Jack loved her, he had never said it. He had told Elizabeth that he cared about her. That she was the only one he wanted to kiss. That he wanted to court her. But he had never said he loved her. _And I am not about to say it first,_ Elizabeth thought determinedly.

* * *

The house was still quiet as Elizabeth sat at the small desk in the guest room and looked at the blank sheets of paper. Judging by Jack's late night, Elizabeth assumed he'd be sleeping in this morning, too late to take her to the train station. _A note will have to do_ , she thought as she began writing.

 **Dear Jack, I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but I didn't want to miss the train. I really need to get back to work. My students miss me and are anxious for more lessons**.

Elizabeth crumbled the note and threw it in the wastebasket next to the desk. _Too unbelievable._

 **Dear Jack, I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to say goodbye, but I ran out of clothes to wear and simply had to get back to Hope Valley.**

She threw it in the wastebasket. _Too stupid_.

 **Dear Jack, You're mother no longer scares me. Now she just gives me a headache and makes me nauseated.**

Elizabeth stared at this one for a while before she crumbled it up. _Too honest_.

* * *

"You let her go without telling me?" Jack asked his parents in surprise when they informed him that Elizabeth had left for the train station almost an hour earlier.

"I've been sitting in the dining room eating breakfast for 20 minutes, expecting her to come down, and she's already left?!"

"She's a grown woman. She chose to leave so we let her", Mr. Thornton said simply.

"I don't understand. Why would you just let her leave like that?"

"Your mother has some doubts about your relationship and I think you should hear her out."

"Jack, she's not our kind. She'll never fit in. She doesn't know the first thing about throwing a dinner party, or running a household staff, or managing a charity."

"Mother, I don't need to throw 'dinner parties'. A Mountie doesn't have a 'household staff', and if we have anything to do with charities, it will be donating to one, not managing one."

"Son, one day this company will be yours and you'll need someone by your side to help you", Mr. Thornton added sternly.

"She's just a simple town girl with no lineage to speak of. She has nothing to bring to this family", Jack's mother remarked.

"Did you say something to her?", Jack asked angrily.

"I simply mentioned that perhaps she was not the right kind of woman who could be of benefit to you. That someone like, Lady Suzanna, is a better fit for you."

"How could you?" Jack looked at his parents in disbelief.

"Jack, we only want what's best for you. You need someone who will help you in life, not just someone with whom you enjoy a little youthful dalliance. She doesn't belong here. You were mistaken thinking she would fit in", his father said harshly.

Jack looked at his parents without saying anything. Finally, he walked over to a chair and took a deep breath.

"You're right." Jack slumped down in the leather chair. "You're right", he said again sadly with his head down.

Jack's voice was solemn and he spoke slowly when he finally looked at his parents. "She doesn't belong here. Love is a strange thing. When you love someone you pretend their flaws don't exist. You see the best in them. You talk yourself into believing that everything will be okay."

Jack's parents remained silent, glancing at each other and each breathing a sigh of relief.

"I've been in denial. I didn't want to see the truth about where I came from. This isn't going to work out."

"We're sorry, Jack. But it's for the best", Mr. Thornton said. "In time you'll get over this."

"I know I will. Because I'll have Elizabeth", Jack said as he stood up.

"I love you both but I can't ignore your flaws any longer. You're pretentious and rude and condescending. Elizabeth doesn't belong here. She's too good for this house ", Jack said as he walked out.

* * *

"Elizabeth!"

"Jack? What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked when she saw Jack hurrying across the train station towards her.

"We didn't have a chance to talk this morning"

"It really wasn't necessary for you..."

"Yes, it was."

"I don't know what went wrong last night", Jack said as he stopped to catch his breath.

"Well, nothing went wrong. I just... need to get back."

"I know you do, but..."

The train whistle and conductor's loud announcement of " All aboard!" drowned out Jack's words.

"That's my train. I'm sorry. I-I have to go", Elizabeth said.

"Then take this with you", Jack said as he moved closer.

"Your suitcase?" Elizabeth looked startled as she noticed for the first time that Jack had a small bag with him and was handing it to her.

"Yeah. If you don't mind carrying it. You go get us a compartment while I hurry up and buy my ticket and upgrade yours. I'll see you in minute."

* * *

"I'm not sure if we'll be able to travel in first class compartments much longer", Jack said with a rueful smile a few minutes later as he rushed into the compartment, closing the door behind him, and taking a seat next to Elizabeth.

"Why not?"

"I gave my parents a lashing and I may be disowned. I'll still have half of J & T Crates but that's all. Is that good enough for you?"

"I've always had a special relationship with J & T Crates", Elizabeth said with a grin. "And even if you don't have anything but your Mountie uniform and a job, it's good enough for me."

As the train pulled out of the Hamilton station, Jack told Elizabeth more about his morning encounter with his parents. She was happy that Jack had defended her, but Elizabeth's conscience nagged at her. She knew that eventually Jack would miss having a relationship with his parents.

"You didn't get any breakfast. We can head to the dining car to grab a bite to eat if you're up for it," Jack said pleasantly, interrupting her thoughts when he heard her stomach growl.

"Can we stay here just a little while longer? "

"Yeah. What for?", Jack asked puzzled.

"In here, it's just the two of us, and... out there, everything is... complicated."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean. - - Wait, you are referring to more than just a crowded dining car, right?"

Elizabeth giggled. "Yes."

"I know things seem complicated, but whatever challenges we have to face out there, I believe that we can take them on together", Jack said earnestly.

"You're right." Elizabeth wasn't sure how she was going to make it happen, but she was going to make sure that Jack's parents accepted her _. Just not today. I'll worry about that later. They can stew for a while._

"Besides, it's a long train ride and we don't have any food in here. Not even a supply of jellybeans", Jack chuckled.

Elizabeth giggled again and stood up, taking a few steps to the compartment door.

"Wait a minute, Elizabeth", Jack said as he reached his arm around her and put his hand on the compartment door, stopped her from sliding it open.

"I don't want to go a minute longer without telling you how much I care about you. What I'm thinking. What I am feeling."

Elizabeth slowly turned around and looked at Jack, who was so close that the train movement jostled them into each other's arms. As Jack put his hands on Elizabeth's waist to steady her, he got that feeling. The one she had described. Nervous and calm at the same time. All jumbled inside. Waiting for the thrill of the wave that had a name. Elizabeth. _How does she do this to me?,_ he thought in wonderment _._

It had taken Jack months to build up the courage to now say the three simple words to Elizabeth. It took her less than a second to happily respond with the same three words.

 **Up next: The Outlaw comes to Town**


	13. Chapter 13 -The Outlaw Comes to Town

**Chapter 13 - The Outlaw comes to Tow** **n**

The sun was high in the cloudless sky but it wasn't too hot a day, not for a picnic. The late autumn weather kept away the bugs and added just the right amount of breeze. Jack sat on the blanket, his arms resting on his bent knees as he looked at Elizabeth twenty feet away, walking in the tall grasses and picking the last of the season's wild flowers. He watched as the wind blew a wayward curl in her face, and she reached up to tuck it behind her ear. She looked over and smiled at Jack as he sat comfortably, surrounded by the remains of their lunch.

He returned her smile and wished he had his sketchpad and pencils with him. He would draw this moment from memory later. He loved her tousled hair with the spiral curl falling down the side. The simple blouse and pale blue skirt accentuated the figure he wanted to touch. He chuckled when he thought about the chocolate stain on her blouse. In the future, he'd be more careful about kissing her neckline after she had fed him a piece of chocolate. _She's just so irresistible_ , he thought with a grin.

While Elizabeth continued to gather flowers, Jack reached into his pocket and took out the two envelopes which he had folded and put there earlier. He had already read their contents once, before going to the Café to pick up Elizabeth. He now turned his attention to the envelope with the Hamilton postmark and took out the single sheet of paper.

 _Dear Jack,_

 _I'm not sure what exactly happened. Mother and Father are refusing to tell me much, but the maid, Ashley, has filled me in on some. From what I've gathered, mother and father were typical snobs when it came to Elizabeth. It's been two weeks since you left and mother has gone from anger (remember that crystal vase from Ireland in the library? Well, it's broken now) to devious (I heard father talking her out of suggesting that Lady Suzanna take a trip to Coal Valley). I think she's at the point now where she's resigned herself to the inevitable, but I'm not sure. In the meantime, she's driving me crazy. Any chance you can send her a letter? Tom_

 _P.S. I always did like Elizabeth for you._

 _P.S.S. I really like Julie! For me!_

Jack placed the letter back in the envelope. He had already sent a letter to his parents, more than a week ago, informing them that they should apologize to Elizabeth. It was up to them to make the next move.

Jack opened the other envelope. The telegram's typed words from the Royal Northwest Mounted Police were less troubling to him than Tom's letter.

 **Two members of Tolliver gang captured. Three others last seen in Pine Springs on Sixteenth. Armed and Dangerous. One injured.**

Pine Springs was far enough away that Jack wasn't too concerned. Coal Valley was a small mining town; there was no reason to suspect that a gang of bank robbers running from the law would stumble upon it, or actively seek it out. Still, when he got back to town, Jack would make the rounds of the homes, advising everyone to lock their doors and windows at night. And he'd have his weapons loaded at all times when he was 'meandering' through the wilderness, as Clint liked to say.

Jack put both envelopes back in his pocket, stood up, and walked through the tall grass. Tomorrow, he'd worry about the Tolliver gang and his parents. Right now, he was going to kiss Elizabeth.

* * *

"Is this seat taken?" Jack asked a week later as he walked into the Café and saw Elizabeth sitting at a table with a plate of pancakes.

"Do you want the seat or my pancakes?", she asked with raised eyebrows.

"Both. But I'll wait until Abigail brings me my own plate", he answered with a smile as he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"All set for school today?"

"I think so. We're going to be discussing poetry. Shakespeare mostly", Elizabeth answered as Jack began opening his morning mail.

Elizabeth stopped talking when she noticed Jack wasn't paying attention. She waited for him to speak.

"Oh, sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just looking at my mail."

"Anything interesting?"

"An invitation to a society Ball. It's an annual event. I've gone every year for the past five years."

"Are you going this year?"

"No. I've used up my leave with the last two trips."

Elizabeth's sigh of relief wasn't missed by Jack.

"Elizabeth, I know my family treated you dreadfully, but . . . but I'd like it if you could give them another try. Eventually, I'll go back to Hamilton for a visit and I'd like you to accompany me when I do."

"I have no desire to subject myself to that again. I can't even think about it. I've barely recovered from the last visit", Elizabeth responded.

Elizabeth knew she sounded harsh, but the mere thought of sitting through another dinner and being grilled or humiliated by Hamilton elite gave her a headache.

Elizabeth noticed the look on Jack's face and felt a twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry Jack. I'm not used to your lifestyle in Hamilton. Just give me a little more time. Here, you finish my pancakes. I need to get going. I promised Mrs. Noonan that I'd stop by and check on her new kittens while she's out of town visiting her family. Imagine having twins and new kittens at the same time."

"I'm just glad she left the kittens and not the babies", Jack said as he reached across the table and moved Elizabeth's plate in front of him.

"You and me both. I have my hands full with all my students. The last thing I need is two more children to watch over."

"I hope your hands aren't too full. I was kind of hoping you might be interested in going riding with me tomorrow after school."

"That sounds nice. And Jack,- -"

"Yes?"

Elizabeth paused before speaking. "I'll give your parents another chance."

* * *

Jack got back into town late after his rounds and was wearily walking from the livery when he passed one of the Pinkerton men leaving the mercantile.

"Constable Thornton", the middle aged man greeted him as he stopped in the street.

"Hello, Mr. Smyth. How are you feeling? The cold gone?", Jack asked as he looked at the man. Jack had always found Tim Smyth to be one of the more cordial of the security detectives of the private Pinkerton agency.

"Good. Thanks. Much better after some soup from Abigail and a poultice from Miss Thatcher."

"Elizabeth made you a poultice?"

"Yeah, she said she used to make them a lot for some children she took care of growing up. It was onion and mustard. Stunk to the high heavens but got rid of my congestion."

"I'm glad it worked out", Jack responded as he started to move past the man.

" . . . Um. Constable?"

"Yeah?" Jack stopped and turned back.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry I upset Miss Thatcher. I shouldn't have said anything."

"What are you talking about?", Jack asked with a frown.

"She didn't mention it to you?". Tim Smyth looked surprised.

"No. I haven't seen her since this morning at the Cafe. What happened?"

"Like I said, she came by and brought me a poultice and a bowl of soup from the Café. She's real nice, you know."

"Yes, I know. Now what did you say to her?"

"I shouldn't have said anything. I could lose my job. But she's so nice it didn't feel right keeping it from her. I told her that I didn't say anything bad about her. Only that she was well-respected and well-liked in the town. I had to report that the two of you had been spending a lot of time together. Picnics. Dinners. Walks. I reported I had seen you holding hands. But nothing scandalous. Don't get me wrong. I kept it proper."

"Mr. Smyth, I don't have a clue what you are talking about", Jack said with a furrowed brow.

The Pinkerton man looked down at the hat in his hand before speaking.

"Two weeks ago, your parents hired the Pinkertons to investigate Miss Thatcher and report back to them as to . . . well . . . her moral character."

* * *

"They had me investigated! Like I'm a common criminal", Elizabeth seethed to Jack when he showed up at her door. When she motioned for him to come inside, he realized that she was angrier than he had expected.

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry. But you have to understand where they're coming from", Jack explained.

"Where they're coming from? What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Elizabeth demanded.

"They have two sons who are very wealthy and stand to inherit an even more sizeable amount of money. And suddenly two sisters of considerably less means come into their sons' lives and before long the brothers are courting the sisters. It does seem a little suspicious. And fortuitous for the women if you look at it from an outsider's perspective."

"Are you saying that I planned this?! That I planned to come to Coal Valley to entice you to court me?!"

"No. Don't be silly. You misunderstood. I'm not saying that _I_ think that you did that. I'm just saying to try looking at it from my parents' viewpoint. You wouldn't be the first women to be attracted to me and Tom because of our wealth and social status."

"I only came to this town because of your mother! I never would have been here if she hadn't forced me here," Elizabeth exclaimed in a fury.

"You're right. . . . But then you would have been in Hamilton. Where my brother, Tom, is", he said with a knowing look.

Elizabeth stared at Jack with wide eyes. "I cannot believe you just said that", she said in astonishment.

"Elizabeth. I'm sorry that didn't come out right. But think about it. A country school teacher and her sister with the traveling circus manage to land two of Hamilton's most eligible bachelors. You have to admit it's a little unusual. A few people at the club teased me about it, and I'm sure it was discussed with my parents."

"I can't believe you!"

"Okay. I'm not going about this right. But, neither are you. You aren't even trying to understand my parents and how they live", Jack said in frustration.

"I would really love to sit and chat about my many weaknesses. But I have quite a lot of work to do. Good night, Jack."

* * *

"They had me investigated! Like I'm a common criminal", Elizabeth fumed to Abigail the next afternoon after school.

"I know, Elizabeth. You've mentioned that three times today, and you mentioned it to me yesterday. You've also told me how Jack responded." Abigail said wearily.

"Elizabeth, I'm not saying that I agree with what the Thorntons did, but I know what it is to be a parent. If you want to have any type of relationship with Jack, you should try to make peace with his family. Give them another chance to get to know you better."

"Abigail, they hate me."

"They don't hate you. They hate that they don't know you. I have a feeling Jack's mother is scared."

"Scared? Of me?"

"Elizabeth, it doesn't matter how old Jack is. He's still his mother's son. And up 'til now, she's been the most important woman in his life. She's scared of losing her son. Scared of losing him to someone she doesn't even know. Get to know her.

Oh! I almost forgot. This arrived for you this morning.", Abigail added as she handed Elizabeth an envelope.

"It's from Mrs. Thornton", Elizabeth said with a frown when she saw the feminine handwriting on the envelope and recognized the return address.

* * *

After the telegram he received that morning about the Tolliver gang still being on the run, Jack had spent an extra hour searching through the woods around Coal Valley to make sure there was no sign of the men. It was already past five o'clock when he got back into town and he didn't bother changing out of his uniform before going to find Elizabeth.

Despite their argument yesterday, Elizabeth hadn't said she wasn't going riding today. Jack hoped she'd be over yesterday's anger by now. Not finding her at saloon, the jail, or at her place, Jack stopped by the Café.

"Abigail, have you seen Elizabeth? She was supposed to meet me for a ride."

"She had to go to the saloon to pick up some things she forgot, and then she was going over to the Noonans to check on their new kittens while they're out of town for the week. I don't think she's come back, yet."

"Okay, thanks."

"Jack- It's none of my business. But she wasn't in a good mood to begin with . . . . We talked . .. about your family . . . and then . . . . "

"What?" Jack asked.

"She got a letter from your mother today. She didn't read it while I was here, but she didn't look happy about getting it."

* * *

Jack waited at the Café another 10 minutes before walking over to the Noonans. As he walked down the dirt street, he hoped to see Elizabeth coming towards him, hurrying to meet him for their riding date. When she didn't appear, he suspected that she was purposely avoiding him.

 _What did my mother say now_? he thought irritably. When Jack had written to his mother weeks ago, he had asked to her to try and make amends. If Elizabeth was avoiding him, Jack could only surmise that his mother had made things even worse after the incident with the Pinkertons.

Jack knocked twice on the Noonan's door before it opened slightly. If he had been hoping to see Elizabeth's smiling face, Jack was disappointed.

"What do you want, Jack?", she said stiffly, as she stood inside and looked at Jack through the five inch opening she made between the door and the jamb.

"I've been looking everywhere for you. I thought we were going riding after school."

"I needed to come check on the kittens"

"Why don't I come in and keep you company and then we can go for that ride."

"I'm afraid I'm really too busy."

"With kittens?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Yes", Elizabeth answered curtly.

"Elizabeth, please. Is everything okay between us?"

"It's fine, Jack. I'm a little busy in here. It's really not a good time."

"Can we talk, . . . please?"

Jack moved to come inside.

"Not inside", Elizabeth said. She stayed in the doorway, refusing to even open the door all the way. It was as if she thought she could keep out the hurt if she didn't open the door all the way.

"What's going on, Elizabeth? Is this because of my mother's letter or are you still upset about yesterday?"

Elizabeth paused before speaking. "I'm not happy about either."

"Elizabeth, I wrote to my mother weeks ago, asking her to make amends with you. I know you got a letter from her today. I don't know what she wrote, but obviously it's upset you. I'm sorry for whatever she did now. I was wrong. About thinking she could make amends and treat you better."

"Let's not belabor the obvious."

"Please understand. My main goal . . even more than me making peace with my parents .. . . was to make sure you didn't get hurt more. And I did the opposite. And I will regret that more than you know. You're all I care about. I hope you can forgive me."

"I need time to think. Please just go away. I really have to take care of the kittens. Three of them are getting fussy. And then I have some sewing to do. . . I have to find my orange thread. Now if you'll excuse me."

Without waiting for a response, Elizabeth closed the door in Jack's face. Before he turned away, Jack heard the click of the lock.

Jack had walked halfway to the jail when he stopped and turned around and started walking back to the Noonan home. _I'll just insist to Elizabeth that we talk about this. Communication is the key to a good relationship._

He had only walked past two houses when Jack remembered how stubborn Elizabeth could be. _That woman is infuriating. She gets angry at me more times than any woman I know_ , he thought as he turned around and went back to the jail.

 _Time. I'll just give her more time. Giving someone space to evaluate their feelings is the key to a good relationship._

Once back at the jail, Jack took off his holster, laying his weapon on his desk, and began to change out of his uniform. As he took off the white undershirt, he noticed the scar on his arm. Elizabeth had done a good job of stitching his wound. _How did things get so complicated since then_?, he wondered.

He ran his fingers over the faint line in his skin, remembering how pretty Elizabeth's hair had looked in the lantern's glow, how she had smiled at the orange thread she used to stitch his arm and had offered another pretty color. Jack grinned when he remembered that she had assured him that she'd be gentle and had teased that her fabric never screamed in pain.

Jack emptied his pocket of the latest telegram informing him that the Tolliver gang was still unaccounted for and put it in his desk drawer. _She had smelled so nice_ , Jack remembered. _Like flowers and lemons. And when I walked home that night, she told me to be careful._

* * *

Elizabeth had barely closed the door on Jack when she was rudely shoved aside, causing her to stumble into a man's rough arms. She heard the click of the bolt as Nate Tolliver locked the door with one hand, holding his gun with the other.

"Your Mountie is very persistent."

"He's not _my_ Mountie."

"Well, he seems to think he is. And I'm going to agree with him. Which means, you're going to do exactly what we say so he doesn't get hurt. Now sew up my wound. I'm tired of waiting."

* * *

Less than twenty minutes later, Jack walked back to the Noonans, carrying a large bouquet which he had hastily had some town children pick from their mothers' gardens. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves before he knocked on the door. When Elizabeth didn't respond, he knocked again more forcefully.

Trying to keep anger out of his voice, he yelled through the wooden door.

"I know you're in there, Elizabeth and I'm not leaving until you open the door."

After a minute, Elizabeth opened the door slightly.

"You have the worst sense of timing in many ways", she said when she saw Jack standing there.

"I want you to step outside so we can talk", he said sternly.

"It's not a good time", she pleaded.

"Can you come outside . . please?" he asked deliberately.

"I can't, Jack."

"Then I'm coming inside."

"No. I'm still angry. Just go away", she begged him.

Before Elizabeth could say more, there was the sound of breaking glass. Jack pushed open the door and rushed past Elizabeth, who was stunned by the quick turn of events.

Broken window glass littered the floor. The back door was open, swinging on its hinges. Tim Smyth had one man on the ground while Bill Avery was wrestling with another. Jack, his gun pulled out from behind the bouquet, had it pointed at Nate Tolliver, whose own gun lay three feet away where it had landed when Jack knocked it away.

The wanted man, injured and tired from being on the run, was starting to raise his hands in surrender when the ball of black fur came darting across the room. The mother cat, upset by commotion disturbing her kittens, had leaped up and run through the room screeching and momentarily distracting the men.

Before she could react, Elizabeth was yanked back. Nate's gun lay on the floor but his arm was wrapped around her neck, pressing her back against his body.

Without looked down, Elizabeth knew that Nate had his knife pointed at her chest. She didn't need to feel the point of the sharp metal blade. She could tell by the stricken expression on Jack's face.

"Put down the knife, Nate", Jack instructed.

"I've got your woman, Mountie. I'm not gonna be taking any orders from you. Now you drop your weapon or your pretty friend is going to find herself with a very large opening where she's not supposed to have one."

"You're not going to hurt her."

"I've got nothing to lose. Either I take her with me or I cut her and you'll run to stop her bleeding. In which case, I'll have time to take off. Either way, I'm out of here. It's just a matter of whether you want to risk her bleeding to death. I'm pretty good with a knife."

"There are three of us, and you're injured. You won't get far."

"Then your woman will have died for nothing. You want her blood on your hands? That's a shame since she was trying so hard to protect you. Trying to keep you away the first time you came. Pleading with us to let her handle it so we wouldn't kill you. And here you are, willing to risk her life. My, my, you're not so gallant are you? Don't make no difference to me if I take her with me or I cut her. It won't be my first kill. But I'm guessing it would be yours."

Elizabeth felt the heat of Nate Tolliver's body as he held her against his dirty clothes. She tried not to gag on his scent. She could smell his sweat; day old alcohol seeping out his pores and mingling with the smell of his unwashed skin and the filth on his clothes. The stench reminded her of farm cows who lay their udders in their own warm excrement on a cold winter's day.

 _Cows!_

Elizabeth realized that Nate was so focused on taunting Jack that he was barely even paying attention to her.

She also realized that her hand was perfectly positioned in front of Nate.

* * *

It was all over in a minute. Nate lay in a fetal position on the floor, his eyes filled with tears, as Jack put handcuffs on him.

When Elizabeth looked at Jack and shrugged, he gave her a look of incredulity.

She smiled. _Sometimes a country girl background comes in h_ andy, she thought, pleased with herself.

* * *

"Jack's a city boy. He's never milked a cow", Elizabeth said with a smile to Abigail as she explained the capture of the gang. "I tried explaining to him. It's like milking a cow only considerably rougher. You just pull down much harder and twist before you squeeze really tight."

Jack cringed. "Enough. Please. I've heard enough."

"I'm guessing they don't teach that self-defense technique in Mountie training", Abigail said with a laugh as she refilled their coffee cups.

"But, Jack, how did you know she was in trouble?"

"She said she needed orange thread for sewing. That's the color she used to stitch me up. It seemed odd that she would mention the color. It took me a while, but I put that together with her hint of three fussy 'kittens', and the fact that _three_ members of the Tolliver gang were on the loose and one of them was injured." Jack explained as he reached across the table and took Elizabeth's hand.

* * *

After all the excitement, Elizabeth was grateful for the quiet afternoon walk the following day.

"I read the letter from your mother. She apologized. Sort of. She said I made her realize some things", Elizabeth told Jack as they walked down the simple path through the meadow.

"Like what?"

"You've always been a good judge of character, and intelligent enough to make your own decisions. She said she shouldn't stop trusting you now."

"I know how you feel about my parents -–"

"It's not all bad."

" You were mad at my mother for forcing you to come to Coal Valley in the first place."

"Maybe "forced" is slightly too harsh", Elizabeth suggested.

"Elizabeth, she had your teaching assignment changed from Hamilton to Coal Valley!"

"I know – but still"

"Does 'compelled' cover it?"

"Still not quite right."

"Manipulated?"

"That's getting closer. It was a big blow for me not to get my teaching posting in Hamilton. I was really looking forward to that."

"A darn shame you ended up here", Jack said with a smile.

"I suppose it hasn't been all bad", Elizabeth conceded with a grin.

"So you think you can make peace with my mother?" Jack asked hesitantly.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I wrote her last night. I thanked her for having me sent here."

* * *

A week later, Jack was sitting at his desk when he heard the jailhouse door open. When he looked up, he saw Elizabeth walk in with a look of determination on her face.

"Hello there, Miss. Thatcher. Is there something I can help you with?", he asked with a smile as he set down his pencil.

"Constable Thornton", she greeted him pleasantly. "I have something for you."

"I hope it's a kiss. Although, it is only 7:00 in the morning. I believe I kissed you less than 12 hours ago. Don't tell me you're going through withdrawals already?"

"Jack!", she chided him as she smiled.

"This is for you", she said as she handed him an envelope.

Jack opened the envelope and looked inside. When he didn't say anything, Elizabeth spoke up.

"It's part of the reward money I got for capturing the Tolliver gang. I'm using it to pay you back for the money you gave all those miners. The money they gave me for the sewing. The same money which I then gave back to you. You shouldn't have had to pay money just so I could pay it back to you. That's just silly. And bad business sense."

"Okay. Thanks", Jack said casually as he put the envelope in his top desk drawer and picked up his pencil, returning his attention to his work.

Elizabeth stood there for a moment waiting for Jack to put up some sort of protest. _This isn't going how I expected_ , she thought in surprise.

"Anything else, Elizabeth?", Jack asked when he noticed that she was still standing there.

"No, that's all."

"Well, shouldn't you be heading to the saloon for school to start soon? I think it's customary for the teacher to be there before the students", he said with a grin.

"Yes, You're right. . . . Okay, I'll see you later."

When Elizabeth got to the door, she stopped and turned around. This wasn't at all how she had imaged things would go. He was supposed to argue with her and refuse to take the money. Then she would proudly stand her ground. Finally, he would be so struck by her independence and how pretty she looked (she had purposely worn her best dress and done her hair nicely) that he would forget about arguing and just pull her into a kiss. At least that's how she imagined it would go.

"Jack?", she said in frustration.

"Yes?"

"Aren't you going to argue with me?"

"About what?"

"About me paying the money back to you."

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Jack leaned back in his chair and laughed. "Two reasons. First, I know how stubborn and proud you are. Second, I agree with you. We shouldn't have debts between us if we're courting."

"You do? . . . Good. . . . Okay. . . I'll be leaving now", she responded. She had to admit she was a little disappointed that he agreed with her so quickly.

"Of course, I don't plan on courting you forever", Jack said casually as he returned his attention to his paperwork.

"You don't?" Elizabeth questioned worriedly. She stopped at the door and slowly turned around to face him.

"Of course not."

When Elizabeth didn't say anything, Jack continued.

"And with regard to debts, I plan on all my money being yours one day. Actually not so much 'yours' as 'ours' when we combine assets", he said matter-of-factly as he began filling out his daily logbook while barely glancing at her.

"Combine assets?", Elizabeth said in confusion.

"And other things", he said with a grin as he looked up from his logbook.

When Elizabeth just stood there staring at him in bewilderment, he continued.

"You know that whole 'for richer, for poorer' thing", he said with a chuckle as he watched her eyes widen. "Now off to school you go, Miss Thatcher", he added as he motioned to the door.

Elizabeth walked in a daze out the door and down the street towards the Saloon. _Did that just go much better than even I imagined?_

 **Up next: Chapter 14**

 **P.S. I used switched up dialogue from at least 7 episodes of TV show. Did you spot it all? :)**


	14. Chapter 14 - The Cake Auction

**Chapter 14 –The Cake Auction**

"How does this thing work?" Jack asked as he stood in the kitchen and watched Elizabeth strenuously stir the contents of the ceramic bowl as stray drops of chocolate batter hit her apron.

"For goodness sakes, Jack. Don't tell me they don't have cake auctions in Hamilton."

"If they did, I never went to them."

"All the town women bake a cake, and the men bid on them. Then it's customary for the winning bidder to share the first piece of cake with the lady who baked it."

"Why can't I just donate a large sum of money to the school fundraiser, and avoid watching this catastrophe in the making?" Jack asked as he surveyed the scene.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Elizabeth asked. She stopped stirring and stared at Jack as he picked up various items on her counter and looked at their labels.

"First of all, even I know that baking soda is not the same thing as baking powder", he said as he held up one of the boxes.

"Close enough", she said as she took the box out of his hand and set it back on the counter.

"And I think the purpose of sifting flour is to get air in the flour, not flour in the air", he said as he ran his finger through the white dust which was covering several surfaces.

"A baker cannot be expected to keep an immaculate kitchen", she responded haughtily.

"Elizabeth, you have flour on your face, I just stepped on a broken egg on the floor, and I think you just put salt instead of sugar in your batter."

Elizabeth surveyed the mess on the counter and then slumped miserably into a nearby kitchen chair. "I hate baking . . . and cooking."

She dipped her finger in the bowl, scooping up some batter, and offered it to Jack.

"Oh no, not me ", he said as raised his hands in defense and backed away.

"I need someone to taste it. You'll be my guinea pig." Elizabeth looked at Jack hopefully.

"Guinea pig?"

"Yes. Now scientists are using guinea pigs for their experimentation."

"Elizabeth, this isn't supposed to be experimentation. It's supposed to be a cake. And I think I'd rather eat a guinea pig than try that batter."

"Fine! Suit yourself!'

Elizabeth put her finger in her mouth and tasted the batter. Without saying a word, she stood up and carried the bowl across the room.

"Why is it again that you can't cook?" Jack asked humorously as he watched Elizabeth dump the batter in the trashcan.

"I can cook!" Elizabeth protested.

"Elizabeth, the only thing I've ever seen you make that is edible, and actually I'll admit, pretty tasty, are your scrambled eggs."

"They are pretty good", she said with a smile. "I put some cream and a pinch of pepper in them."

"So why is it that you can't you make anything else?"

Elizabeth sighed and began cleaning up the mess. "I was always too busy reading. Whenever I was supposed to be stirring something or watching it fry up or keeping an eye on the oven, I would try and read a magazine or book at the same time. I would forget to stir, or flip, or take it out of the oven. My mother said that Jane Austen was to blame for more food being wasted than we could afford. She finally just gave up on me and made Viola do the cooking."

"But you can sew and other household things that women do", Jack said curiously.

"It was different with sewing; I had to use both hands. Since I couldn't turn pages of a book at the same time as sewing, I couldn't even try to read. And watching children was easy because I would just read to them, or read while they were napping."

"So you did sewing and child-sitting. Viola helped with the cooking. What did Julie do?"

"She was the baby of the family so she didn't have to do much. Normally, she would just walk around the house passing a feather duster over things and thinking that constituted house cleaning. Mom always spoiled her because she pitied her the most. We all did. . . . because . . . . because Julie didn't have as many years with our father."

Elizabeth shook the unpleasant memory of her father's death from her mind as she started washing dishes in the sink. "But I'm going to learn. You'll see, this cake will be delicious."

"Okay. I'll bid $20 at the auction. How does that sound?"

"You can't bid $20 on my cake!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Why not? I want to. I love you", Jack said matter-of-factly.

"You can't!"

Jack walked up behind Elizabeth and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Can't love you, or can't bid that much? Because it's too late to tell me I can't love you", he whispered in her ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You cannot bid too much on my cake. People will think you like me", Elizabeth explained with a smile as she leaned her head back and let Jack gently lick flour off her neck.

Jack chuckled. "I think they know that already."

"You know what I mean. This is a fundraiser for the school. Every man gets a chance to bid. You don't want to brag about being lucky enough to court me ", she said teasingly. "And you don't want to show off your wealth. It will set you apart from the other townspeople. So don't bring too much money to the auction. That way you won't be tempted to go overboard. But, you should bid at least a little on some other cakes, just enough to get some competition going and drive the prices up a bit."

* * *

Elizabeth had used up enough supplies to make three cakes and still had nothing decent for the auction. She was in the mercantile getting more flour and sugar when Suzanne and Joyce came in to the store.

"Elizabeth, we were just discussing the cake auction. I, myself, learned to bake with private lessons from our cook back home. My lemon chiffon is always the highest bid cake at these auctions. Last year, my cake went for $3.25. How is the entry from our simple school teacher coming along?"

"Just fine, Suzanne", Elizabeth answered stiffly.

"You do know the rules, don't you?"

"Rules? What rules?"

"Well, it has to be edible." Suzanne and Joyce burst into peals of laughter.

"I saw Jack eating lunch at the saloon today. He seems to eat a lot of meals at the saloon or café", Suzanne remarked with a smirk as she noticed Elizabeth becoming irritated.

"He does need to eat three meals a day", Elizabeth responded before muttering under her breath, "He's not a cold blooded animal like you."

"If I were courting a man, I would be sure to cook him such wonderful meals, he would never want to go elsewhere. I suppose your lack of baking and cooking skills makes you a little insecure. My mother always said that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach."

"What do you want, Suzanne?" Elizabeth said irritably as she placed her items on the counter.

"Isn't it obvious. I want Jack. When it comes to Jack Thornton, I'm gonna steal his heart", Suzanne said with a smile.

* * *

"Abigail, I'm in trouble." Jack sat down at the kitchen table and looked glum.

"What did you do now? Last time I saw Elizabeth she wasn't mad at you, so it must be something she doesn't know about yet," Abigail said with a smile.

"It's kind of a long story."

"Start from the beginning", Abigail instructed as she poured them each a cup of coffee and took a seat across from him.

"It's our anniversary -"

"What are you talking about? You aren't even married", Abigail said dismissively, interrupting him and giving him a quizzical look.

When Jack looked flustered, Abigail grinned.

"Oh my goodness, you're a romantic. This must be the anniversary of the first time you met, . . . or kissed, . . . . or maybe of when you said something _special_ to each other .. . maybe some _special words_?" Abigail prodded with a smile as Jack's face became redder.

"Do you want to hear my problem or just tease me?" Jack asked as he averted Abigail's teasing eyes and looked down at his coffee cup

"I'm sorry, Jack. Go ahead"

"I bought Elizabeth a pair of earrings. Dangling gold things with a little gem. The kind ladies like."

"So what's the problem?"

Jack sat back and ran his fingers through his hair in despair as he began his story.

* * *

Ten minutes later, Abigail sat at the table staring at Jack and trying to grasp the situation. "So let me get this straight. You were at the Gowens talking to Mr. Gowen about Mountie business. Suzanne corralled you into the kitchen to help with her cake. The last time you remember seeing the earrings is when you put them in your top shirt pocket. And when you were getting ready to leave, you only had one earring."

Jack nodded. "I think the other one may have fallen into the batter when I was putting the cake pans into the oven for her."

"Why don't you just tell Elizabeth?"

"I can't. She doesn't know I realize it's our anniversary or that I got her something. It will ruin the surprise. "

"Oh, she'll be surprised alright", Abigail muttered.

"Okay, Jack. So don't tell Elizabeth. Why don't you just tell Suzanne what happened?"

"You know how she and Elizabeth feel about each other. Suzanne will think I'm trying to ruin her cake. And then she won't have a cake for the auction. That's not fair to her. And the auction is for a good cause so it's not fair to the auction either.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to have to bid on Suzanne's cake so I can get the earring back", Jack said with a resigned face.

"You're going to bid on that woman's cake at auction in front of Elizabeth and the whole town?" Abigail asked with raised eyebrows

"Not good, huh?"

Abigail stood up and put the coffee cups in the sink. "Oh, it's going to be good. You can bet on that."

* * *

Elizabeth finished putting the icing on the cake, and stood back to look at it. _Not too bad. In fact, it's very nice looking. If I face it this direction on the table, it won't look nearly as lopsided. And the cake plate Abigail loaned me will make it the prettiest cake at the auction._

At least that's what Elizabeth thought until she carried her cake to the saloon and saw the rows of cakes lined up on the table.

As her eyes made their way down the plates of cakes, her confidence began to melt. When she got to Suzanne Gowen's cake, her confidence totally evaporated.

Suzanne Gowen's cake was the most incredible cake Elizabeth had ever seen at a cake auction. The cake was easily 8 inches high and perfectly round with flawless little peaks of soft white icing. Swirls of lemon peel decorated the rim of the plate. _Are_ _those candied lemon slices on the top?!,_ Elizabeth thought with a gasp.

Elizabeth looked down at her own cake and frowned. The thin icing seemed skimpy. What had earlier seemed to be a fluffy cake now seemed more like a pancake.

 _It doesn't matter what hers is like. Jack will make sure mine goes for a nice amount, s_ he thought smugly as she set her cake down on the table and went back outside to talk to the other ladies before the auction began.

* * *

Jack watched the action, anxiously waiting for the lemon chiffon cake to be put up for bid. It seemed easy enough. So far, each cake brought a few bids, with the average price ending up at around $1.65. After a cake was sold, there was polite applause from the crowd and the bidder paid the auctioneer. Jack realized he may have to pay a bit more because, even he had to admit, Suzanne Gowen's cake was by far the most delicious looking cake on the table. _I'll have the cake with earring in no time,_ Jack thought hopefully.

"Next, fellas, we have Suzanne Gowen and her famous lemon chiffon cake. Now, let us dig deep for these bids. This is for a good cause, New encyclopedias for the school. Don't forget. Whoever gets the cake, gets to eat the first slice with Suzanne", the auctioneer announced.

"65 cents", someone shouted.

"85 cents", an older man yelled.

"$1.00", another man called out.

"1.50", a man in overalls shouted.

"1.75" a fifth man yelled.

Jack looked around in alarm. He hadn't expected to have so much competition to get the cake.

"$2.00!", a man in blue shouted.

"$2.50!"

"$2.65!"

The townsmen went back and forth while Jack jerked his head around watching them.

"$3.00", the first miner yelled.

The other men shook their heads in defeat.

"$3.50!", Jack yelled, joining in the competition. _It's a good thing that_ _I sent Elizabeth to get me a lemonade,_ he thought.

Everyone in the room was cheering and whispering with the excitement of the bidding. Suzanne stood at the front of the room holding her cake and beaming.

"$3.75" the first miner yelled.

$4.25", Jack yelled, and the crowd gasped.

$4.35", the man countered.

The crowd had gone silent but Jack didn't think about that as he frantically yelled out another bid.

"$5.00!" _I have got to get that cake_!, he thought worriedly.

The opposing bidder threw up his hands in defeat.

"$5.00. Going once, going twice. Sold, to Constable Thornton for $5.00!"

"Thank goodness", Jack said audibly with a huge sigh, which was heard throughout the saloon.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, that was a record bid! We have never had a cake go for that much at any cake auction! Constable, we won't take your money just yet, because I'm sure you're going to want to bid on this next cake also", the auctioneer said good-naturedly.

"Next up, we have a new addition to our cake auction. Our teacher, Miss Thatcher."

Jack suddenly knew why the crowd had become silent during the bidding on Suzanne's cake, and why no one was applauding the final sale. Everyone was too busy anxiously looking behind him and holding their breath waiting for something to happen.

With a grimace, Jack slowly turned around. Elizabeth was standing directly behind him with a look on her face that he couldn't quite figure out. Something told him that he didn't want to know what she was thinking.

The room remained frozen, except for the heads of the people, as everyone stayed glued to their locations. They watched as Elizabeth handed Jack his lemonade and then brushed stiffly past him and went to the front of the room to hold up her feeble chocolate cake.

"We will start the bidding at two bits", the auctioneer said as Elizabeth's eyes pierced through Jack before she put a smile on her face and looked at the crowd.

"Two bits!", a young man yelled.

"We have two bits".

"35 cents" another man yelled out.

"40 cents", a man in a green shirt yelled out.

"45 cents", a fourth man yelled.

"50 cents!" , the second man yelled out.

"55 cents", the fourth man countered.

"60 cents", shouted a man with a mustache.

Jack looked around in frustration. He recognized several of the bidding men as men who had danced with Elizabeth at the Miner's dance. Jack realized that the men must have had had their eyes on Elizabeth for some time but had not pursued her because of him.

The men, now assuming that Elizabeth was available, were determined not to waste any more time.

With a start, Jack realized that the bidders didn't care how the lopsided cake tasted. They were bidding on something else entirely.

The auction to be the lovely Miss Thatcher's new beau was on.

"65 cents", Jack yelled.

"70 cents", the man in green yelled.

Jack dug around in his pockets and counted his available money.

"80 cents!" he yelled. At the same time, he raised his eyebrows sternly at the other men and placed his hand on his weapon for all to see.

Jack's message was clear. Elizabeth was not available.

The men, receiving the message, frowned in frustration but didn't offer any more bids.

"Going once, going twice... "

"$1.25!" A man's strong voice came across loud and clear from the back of the room.

Jack whipped his head around and stared at the man behind the voice.

Mr. Smyth grinned at Jack. The Pinkerton man had no idea what was going on between the constable and the teacher, but it was certainly entertaining.

When Jack glowered at him, Mr. Smyth put his hand on his own weapon and smiled back. Jack could intimidate a coal miner or lumberjack with his red serge and weapon, but Mr. Smyth had no intention of being intimidated by the young constable's posturing.

"Going once, going twice. . ."

Everyone waited with bated breath for Jack to speak up. Their eyes switched quickly from Jack to Elizabeth, who remained motionless at the front of the room, and then back again to Jack.

Jack threw up his hands in defeat. He had nothing left.

"Sold to the man with all the money for $1.25!"

"Gentlemen, if you'll approach the table. That's $5.00 for Miss Gowen's cake, and . .. um $1.25 for Miss Thatcher's cake."

* * *

"May I have a word with you, please?", Elizabeth said stiffly to Jack after she first handed her cake to Mr. Smyth and informed the man that she would only be a moment.

Jack motioned to Suzanne that he would be back in a moment as she handed him the lemon chiffon cake, and he hurriedly followed Elizabeth outside.

"What game are you playing, Jack?", Elizabeth hissed when they were outside standing in the street.

"I'm just doing my job. Supporting the community."

"By bidding on _her_ cake?!"

"I was supporting the school. Raising funds for a good cause. I bid on your cake too."

"You spent $5 on _that woman's_ cake and bid a pathetic .80 cents on mine! Do you stay up at night just thinking of ways to completely embarrass me?"

"I ran out of money. You're the one who told me not to bring a lot of money to the auction!" Jack reminded her.

"That was before I knew you were going to do something stupid like bid on someone else's cake!"

"You told me to bid on other cakes! To drive up the prices!"

"But not on hers!"

"How I am supposed to know all the rules? I told you I've never been to one of these before."

"It's a simple cake auction. Not a college entrance examination", Elizabeth exclaimed in disgust.

"I didn't know there would be so much competition for her cake. . . . It really is a good looking cake", Jack said honestly as he looked at it candied lemon slices on top.

" _I'm_ your girl, Jack! You are supposed to bid the most on _my_ cake . . . no matter how horrible it might be!"

"You said you didn't want people to think I liked you too much!"

"For goodness sakes, I didn't say that I wanted people to think you despised me!"

Elizabeth took a deep sigh to control her irritation before speaking.

"Jack, if we're going to have any kind of relationship, I need you to be completely honest with me, regardless of the circumstance. What is going on?"

Jack paused for a moment trying to think of a way out of this.

"Elizabeth... it's not that I don't want to tell you. . . . . It's just sometimes a Mountie's work is unpredictable and... And dangerous. And some of the things that... That I get involved in... I'm just not at liberty to tell you about."

"You're not seriously going to use that line on me, are you?!", she exclaimed with a look of incredulity.

"Oh, Jack! Over here! I'm ready to share that slice of my delicious light and airy dessert with you." Suzanne's voice floated across the air as she walked towards the couple, followed by Mr. Smyth, who offered a broad grin and his arm to Elizabeth.

* * *

"Why did you bid on my cake?" Elizabeth asked Mr. Smyth as she sat at his kitchen table watching him take two plates out of the cupboard.

"You made that poultice for me. I owed you a favor", he responded simply.

"You helped Jack save my life from the Tolliver gang. I think you repaid the favor."

"I like you, Miss Thatcher. You remind me of my wife. She was a lot like you. Full of independence. I loved her dearly but she was terrible in the kitchen. I ended up making most of our meals."

"So you wanted to eat a terrible cake to remember your wife?" Elizabeth asked with a laugh.

Mr. Smyth chuckled. "I've watched you and the constable –"

"You don't need to remind me of your surveillance for his family", Elizabeth remarked with raised eyebrows.

"As I was saying, I watched the two of you. The way you two care about each other was like me and my missus. Made me happy to see it. So, if someone is going to get Constable Thornton's affection, I'm throwing my support behind you instead of that Suzanne Gowen. And for some reason, your Mountie was bidding on her cake. That intrigued me. I thought I'd have a little fun at his expense and bid on your cake. . . . No man should ever be too comfortable with his lady. And I never did care for Miss Gowen. She's too pesky. We can't have her going about town thinking she's the only one with desirable cake."

"Thank you, Mr. Smyth", Elizabeth said warmly.

"So how long do you aim to stay mad at the constable for bidding on her cake?"

"I'm not mad at him for bidding on her cake. I'm sure he has some perfectly good reason for humiliating me in front of the entire town. . .

And . . well, I do care very much for him", she added shyly.

"So you're going to tell him you're not mad at him?"

"Goodness no. I'm not mad at him _for bidding_ on her cake, but I am mad at him _for not telling me why_ he did it! He certainly has me wondering how he managed to get himself in this mess", Elizabeth said as she watched Mr. Smyth take a bite of her cake.

"What do you think?", she asked hesitantly.

"Tastes just like my late wife's baking", he said as he reached for a drink.

* * *

When Jack showed up at Elizabeth's door after dinner with the lemon chiffon cake minus a large slice, and a small box, Elizabeth had to admit she was intrigued enough to allow him inside.

"It's our anniversary", he said as he hesitantly gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I know. I also know that most people do not celebrate their anniversaries by embarrassing the one they love. Unless that's something they do in Hamilton because it's certainly not a custom I've ever heard of. "

Jack thought he heard some humor in her voice, but he wasn't 100 percent positive.

"I got you a little something", Jack said as he set down the cake on the table and nervously handed her the box.

Elizabeth untied the simple pink ribbon, and lifted the lid off of the box. She tried to hide her pleasure as she picked up the gold earring and saw the gem sparkling as she held it up. She looked curiously in the box but didn't see the second earring.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at Jack.

"Am I sharing the pair with Suzanne?" she asked sarcastically.

"No! Of course!", Jack said quickly.

"Left-over cake from another woman and a half of a pair of earrings. Do you want to use your Mountie investigative skills, or should I tell you how I'm feeling right now?" she asked.

"Elizabeth, you know how much I love you."

"Apparently not enough to warrant a whole cake or a complete set of earrings", she responded, as she tried to keep from snickering.

"You're not going to make this easy, are you?"

"I hadn't planned on it. But I'm going to listen to you because you've scared away all the other townsmen from trying to court me. Oh, yes, I saw your hand on your weapon", she informed him.

He was positive he saw a smile escaping her lips as she sat down on the couch.

"A little too aggressive?"

"I think you made your point with them. Now you just have to make your point with me."

Jack took a deep breath.

"I was helping Suzanne bake her cake –"

"Jack, do you understand how this works? You're supposed to say something so I forgive you. Not so I kick you out. Why don't you begin again?"

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Elizabeth was snuggled against Jack's shoulder as he held her close and lightly kissed her forehead.

"Cake auctions are exhausting. I don't think we should do it next year", she said with a smile as she closed her eyes in contentment at the feeling of Jack's arm around her.

Jack grinned as he glanced from the picked-through remains of the lemon chiffon cake to Elizabeth's earlobe, which now held the once missing earring.

Two empty wine glasses stood on parlor table next to the empty box and the stationary covered in Elizabeth's feminine curlicues and perfect penmanship.

Careful not to jostle Elizabeth, Jack stretched out his hand to the parlor table and picked up her anniversary present to him. He held it up to his face, inhaling the scent of perfume on the sheets of paper. Jack pictured her sitting at her desk, or even in bed late at night, as she had written about her deep feelings for him.

Jack would put this letter with the other papers when he got back to the jail. He realized that while Elizabeth expected him to keep this very personal letter safely tucked away somewhere, she probably had no idea that he had kept everything she had ever written to him. Her letter of secrets. A list of supplies she asked him to get at the mercantile. A note telling him to be please be careful when he went overnight on rounds. A scrap of paper with the name of a book she wanted him to get next time he was in Union City. A card inviting him to dinner last week.

He had kept every single one.

"Pergisci" , Jack whispered as he leaned forward and nibbled a lemon chiffon crumb off her earlobe.

"Mmm", Elizabeth said sleepily. "Pergisci. What's that one mean?"

"'Wake up'. As much as I'd love to stay here. It's getting late, and I should get going. You're falling asleep."

"I was just thinking", she said, a faint smile crossing her lips as she remained against him.

 _I know what I'm thinking and it's definitely not appropriate_ , he though with a grin as he enjoyed the feeling of her warm body against his.

"What are you thinking?", he whispered.

"I'm wondering what you'll do for our next anniversary."

 **Up next: Chapter 15.**

 **While I'm busy working on the next chapter of this story, you can check out my eight Vignettes which I have written under the name jellybean49. They are very different from this story, and each of the eight has a unique theme.**


	15. Chapter 15 - A Woman of Mystery

**Chapter 15- A Woman of Mystery**

 _It's like trying to find a black cat at night_ , Jack thought in frustration. _This town is not that big! How is it that she keeps managing to disappear?!_

This was the third time in two days that Jack couldn't find Elizabeth at any of her usual places. _I need to put a cowbell on her,_ he thought to himself _._

He had already been to the saloon, the Café, the mercantile, and her place, with no luck. Jack was walking towards the pond, when he caught a glimpse of Elizabeth coming from the direction of Mr. Smyth's place. Calling out her name, he walked in her direction.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. I thought we were having dinner together before I have to go out of town for a few days", he said when he caught up to her.

"It was so nice outside that I just went for a walk. How about we walk back to my place?", she said happily as she took his arm.

Jack looked at her and frowned. "Your blouse is buttoned wrong."

Elizabeth looked down. "Oh my goodness, you're right. How silly of me. I guess I've been walking around all day like that", she said lightly as she unbuttoned her blouse and fixed it.

"No. It was fine when I saw you this morning", Jack said curiously.

"Jack Thornton, how would you know something like that? You probably just didn't notice it this morning." Elizabeth took his arm again and began walking with him.

"I would have noticed it. I'm a Mountie. We notice details", Jack protested.

"I highly doubt that they taught you to notice women's fashion and dressing at the academy."

"If you remember, the first time I met you, I noticed you were walking on the outside of your feet to compensate for your shoes pinching, and that your dress was three inches too short and a little tight around the waist."

"Obviously they didn't teach you how to flatter a woman at the academy or you wouldn't have said anything. Or did you just fail that portion of the class? ", she asked sarcastically.

"Elizabeth, I am very good about noticing details and pointing them out and –"

"No wonder you were single when we met", she said with a laugh, interrupting him.

"Now let's go get something yummy to eat", she added without waiting for a response.

* * *

"Mr. Smyth said I remind him of his late wife", Elizabeth said as she helped Abigail fold the napkins for the Café tables the next afternoon.

"Really? You're nothing like his late wife", Abigail said curiously.

"But he said she was independent and terrible in the kitchen!", Elizabeth protested in surprise when she remembered Mr. Smyth's earlier statement to her.

Abigail paused for a second and then smiled. "Actually, you're right. I hadn't thought about it like that. "

"Why did you say we were nothing alike. What was she like?"

"Well, on the outside, you're not alike. She had very blond hair, and was taller than you. And she held herself differently. She came from money. She actually married down to be with him. She was very cultured and had the most beautiful clothes. We were all envious of her dresses but she was so sweet. She was never snobby about her upbringing and she didn't mind living in a small town to be with him. "

"Were they happy?"

"They were. Very happy. . . . And then she got sick. I felt so bad for Tim."

"He hasn't found anyone since she died?", Elizabeth asked.

"No. I don't think he's been interested. He's been content just to focus on his work and live out his life alone", Abigail said wistfully as handed Elizabeth some more napkins.

* * *

Jack got back into town earlier than expected after having been gone for two days and was glad to take a quick bath before going to see Elizabeth. Throwing on a fresh change of clothes, he wondered if she had been bored without him or if she had kept busy with her school work. As he approached the Café building, he was surprised to see Tim Smyth walking out of Elizabeth and Abigail's private entrance rather than the Café door.

"Hello, Tim."

Mr. Smyth nodded in response to Jack's greeting but didn't say anything as he continued walking and wiped a single tear from his eyes.

Jack stopped and turned in concern. "Tim, is everything okay?"

The man kept his back turned and simply raised his hand to indicate to Jack that he was fine.

Rather than go inside, Jack stood on the porch and watched as Tim Smyth continued walking until he was two buildings away. He stopped on the corner of the building and leaned his hand against the wooden structure to support himself. Jack watched as the man's shoulders heaved. It was obvious even from a distance that the man was crying.

Jack quickly knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for a response.

"Jack, hello", Abigail greeted him pleasantly as she looked up from folding clothes.

"What's going on? ", Jack asked hurriedly.

"What do you mean?" Abigail looked curiously at Jack.

"I just saw Tim Smyth leave here in tears"

"Oh, dear. I thought it might be a bit much for him." Abigail said with a frown.

"What might?"

Abigail paused before speaking and seemed to be thinking of what to say.

"My tea. I put too much spice in it again", she finally said simply as she returned her attention to her laundry.

"Abigail, what is going on?", Jack asked with a frown. It was obvious that Abigail was lying to him.

"Nothing. . . . And don't you dare ask Elizabeth!", she said sternly.

Before Jack could respond, he heard the sound of footsteps coming down the wooden staircase.

"Jack! You're back in town!", Elizabeth said happily as came down the steps, buttoning her blouse.

"Elizabeth", Jack greeted her curiously. "Am I interrupting anything?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly. Let's go for a nice walk."

* * *

Mr. Smyth was crying. Abigail was lying. Elizabeth was smiling. . . and apparently dressing and undressing frequently. _What in the world is going on?_ , Jack thought as he lay in bed that night.

* * *

The next morning, Elizabeth, standing outside the Saloon and ready to greet her students, looked off in the distance and saw the familiar red of Jack's jacket riding away from town.

"Hello, Elizabeth." The woman's voice took her by surprise.

"Lady Suzanna?! My goodness. What are you doing here in Hope Valley? You didn't come all this way just to see Jack?", Elizabeth asked when she turned to see the elegant woman from Hamilton standing in front of her. _She's supposed to stay in Hamilton in Jack's past!_

Lady Suzanna responded with a smile. "I'm here with my father. He has some interests in the railroad business and had some matters out this way. I thought I'd accompany him. And yes, I did come all this way to visit with Jack. I had the time, and we're good friends."

"That's very nice of you."

"Well, Jack and I have known each other our entire lives."

"I'm sure he'll be happy to see you", Elizabeth responded with a friendly smile.

"I only arrived a few minutes ago. I just stopped by the jail but he wasn't in."

Elizabeth motioned towards the woods. "There. See his red serge. He does morning rounds for an hour or so some days."

"I do hope he's careful", Suzanna said with concern as she watched the red dot disappear into the woods.

"He is."

The women both stared at the spot where Jack had entered the woods. Elizabeth was trying to think of something else to say when Lady Suzanna spoke first.

"I was wondering if I would see you again, Elizabeth."

"I don't get to Hamilton very often."

"The Hamilton Regal Ball is in three weeks. Has Jack invited you?"

"No, he hasn't", Elizabeth admitted with a frown.

"Well, perhaps he didn't think you would enjoy it. He's escorted me the last few years. I'm hoping that he'll be able to take leave and come back to Hamilton for it this year. We've always had a good time."

Elizabeth didn't know how to respond to that so she decided it would be just best to leave.

"If you'll excuse me, Suzanna. My students will be arriving shortly", Elizabeth said as she moved towards the door.

"You know, I just want what's best for Jack", Suzanna said as she turned to look at Elizabeth.

"So, do I", Elizabeth responded.

"At least we have that in common."

"Do you _know_ what's best for him?" Elizabeth questioned.

"Do _you_?", Suzanna countered.

"I know that you think he belongs in Hamilton. And I know him well enough to let him decide for himself where he wants to live and what he wants to do with his life", Elizabeth responded passionately.

"With all due respect... you don't know him at all", Lady Suzanna said as she turned and walked away.

* * *

Elizabeth fumed through most of the school day as she thought about Lady Suzanna coming to Hope Valley. Jack might think that he and Suzanna were just friends, but Elizabeth had no doubt that Suzanna secretly hoped that Jack would ask for her hand the second Elizabeth wasn't in the picture.

"Some of my students mentioned her. They thought she was very pretty. One of the girls even said, 'Miss Thatcher, I want beautiful hair like that woman'," Elizabeth unhappily told Abigail after school as they dusted the front room.

"Has Jack ever complained to you about your hair?", Abigail questioned with a smile.

"No. . . . He actually says he likes it", Elizabeth admitted.

"She's taller than me", Elizabeth grumbled as she continued to think about Suzanna.

"I don't think she planned that just to irritate you," Abigail responded as she noticed Elizabeth's frowning face.

"I wouldn't put it past her", Elizabeth muttered. "She's skinnier than me too."

"Is there some thin place you need to fit into that I'm not aware of?" Abigail asked with raised eyebrows and a laughing look.

Elizabeth gave Abigail a frustrated look and continued complaining.

"She mentioned the Regal Ball's coming up. She wants Jack to take her. He hasn't even mentioned it to me. She wouldn't be here if she didn't think she had a chance with Jack."

"You know perfectly well that Jack has no intention of courting anyone but you. Now stop comparing yourself to her and do something useful", Abigail said good-naturedly as she handed Elizabeth a broom.

* * *

Elizabeth was sweeping the front porch when Suzanna approached her.

"I suspect you've seen Jack?" , Elizabeth asked with a smile plastered on her face. _I can be a lady just like her. I can be nice to Jack's friend._

"Yes. He's back to working now, but he had time to take me on a tour of Hope Valley. Showed me the pond. Beautiful spot."

"It is. It's excellent fishing out there."

"I suppose. But it would appear that you need the right bait in order to catch anything."

"Yeah", said Elizabeth as she looked curiously at Lady Suzanna. She got the distinct impression that Suzanna wasn't talking about fishing.

"I suppose the question is how does the fisherman know which is the best bait? It's a big decision. I would hate for a fish to get caught by an artificial lure."

Elizabeth stared at Lady Suzanna. "For goodness sakes, Suzanna. Just say what you're thinking."

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

"Well, then I'll be blunt. Jack is not a fish. I am not an artificial lure used in fly fishing. And you're not going to catch him by wiggling your body in front of him." Elizabeth said in a huff.

 _My goodness, why is it that rich society people can't just say what they're thinking?!,_ Elizabeth thought as she turned and walked back inside, leaving Lady Suzanna standing stunned in the street

* * *

"Did Suzanna leave?", Elizabeth asked Jack when she entered the Café the next morning and saw him eating breakfast.

"She did. I'm sorry you couldn't join us for dinner last night. You should get to know her better. She's one of my oldest friends."

"So I've been told", Elizabeth muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me?", Jack asked as looked up and took a sip of his cup of coffee.

"I was just wondering, Jack, . . . . aren't you going to ask me something?", Elizabeth asked hopefully as she took a seat across from him.

"Yeah. How'd you know?", he said in surprise.

"Don't worry about that. Just go ahead and ask me", Elizabeth said with a smile. _I'll still act surprised when he asks me to the ball and tell him how thrilled I'll be to go_.

Jack looked curiously at Elizabeth's eager face before speaking. "Okay. I was wondering if you could sew one of my shirts for me. I tore it on a thorn . . . for real this time."

When Elizabeth gave Jack a bewildered look, he quickly added, "You don't have to if you're busy. "

"Seriously, I'll do it myself", he added when he now saw a look of irritation in her eyes.

"No, no . I'll do it", she replied with a sigh. _Men!_

* * *

After breakfast, Jack quickly stopped by the jail and was then heading towards the livery when he saw the two engaged in conversation. Quickly darting beside a building, he quietly approached Elizabeth and Tim Smyth and stood around the corner no more than five feet away. He knew he shouldn't eavesdrop but Elizabeth had been far too mysteriously lately. Especially when it came to Mr. Smyth.

"And I wear it?", Elizabeth asked.

"That's right", Mr. Smyth responded. "They can be real fancy. Stop by later and I'll show you some of my wife's. She always kept them in the top dresser drawer . . .and well, I never moved them. Some have lace. My wife even has one with a trim of leather. You usually tie it on with a thin silk ribbon. "

"And I can't say no if a man asks me?"

"It's not considered good form."

"Even if I want to spend the whole evening with someone else?"

Mr. Smyth chuckled. "Even if you want to spend the whole evening with someone else. You're supposed to give your attention equally to every man who wants it. . . . But there is a simple way to make sure you can spend the whole evening with just one", Mr. Smyth said as he and Elizabeth moved down the street out of Jack's earshot.

* * *

Jack had to admit that he was stumped. The academy had taught him about nature, the law, and medicine. It had left out the most important subject. Women.

 _Where's Tom when you need him_?, Jack thought ruefully. He had no doubt that his brother would be able to make sense of this. Tom had told him plenty of times of his knowledge of women and their peculiar ways.

 _Maybe I just haven't had enough experience with women. This cannot be that complicated. She's a woman. I'm a man. We're supposed to be in love. So why in the world is she spending so much time with Mr. Smyth? And why is he so emotional? And why has she been so excited about something? And why is she getting irritated with me?_

 _She's having an affair with Tim Smyth. Elizabeth is having an affair with him._

 _No, don't be stupid. Why would she choose him over me?_

 _He's established. I suppose that some women like a man who has already settled down. . . . .but he's got to be at least 10 years older than her!_

 _She's doesn't like my dangerous job. That must be it. . . . Except he's a Pinkerton and that can be dangerous. . . So . . ._

 _I scared her away by moving too fast. It was probably too soon in our relationship to hint that I wanted to marry her one day. . ._

 _Do I even want to imagine what they were talking about being in his wife's drawer and her not saying 'no' to a man? What was that all about?_

Jack was so busy thinking about Elizabeth that he didn't notice the low hanging branch until it knocked him off his horse and he rolled down the steep rocky incline.

* * *

Elizabeth hovered over Jack as he explained to the doctor about his fall. If she hadn't seen him wincing in pain and having difficultly opening the jailhouse door, she wasn't sure Jack even would have mentioned his injury to her, or allowed her to yell across the street and call over to the doctor who was just leaving the mercantile.

"Miss Thatcher, if you would please help him off with his shirt, I'll just go get my bag and be back in a minute."

"What?!", Elizabeth said wide-eyed.

"Help him with his shirt, please. Careful of the shoulder and arm", the doctor instructed as he crossed the room and exited the building.

Elizabeth suddenly felt nervous. She stood in front of Jack and looked in his eyes for a moment before turning her gaze to his shirt buttons. Slowly she began unbuttoning his shirt. She felt herself getting flushed and had only unbuttoned the top button when she paused to look at the small amount of his now exposed chest.

Jack didn't move, but she felt his eyes on her. Their heads were so close that if she looked up, she was sure their lips would be touching. _He smells delicious_ , she thought ashamedly, knowing that she should be concerned with his injury rather than his scent.

Elizabeth took a deep breath before moving on to the next button. She was beginning to feel a little faint at their closeness. Obviously, they had been close before . . . but never without his shirt on. _Certainly never with me undressing him!_

She didn't dare look at his handsome eyes as the button came undone. Unfortunately, by avoiding his eyes, she was forced to look at his chest. _Oh my_ , she thought as she saw more of his bare skin.

She decided to calm herself and interrupt the unbuttoning to remove his suspenders. _Oh, this isn't any better! His arms are incredible,_ she acknowledged as her hands ran very gently along his shoulders and arms as she glided the thin straps off.

By the time she had unbuttoned the third button, Elizabeth's heart was racing at the sight of Jack's muscular form. _It's so . . . . nice_ _and . . strong looking_. She gulped before moving her fingers to the fourth button. Jack gently put his hand along her arm to steady her.

"This isn't how I imagined it would be", Jack said quietly with a smile as he watched Elizabeth's fingers fumble with the button.

Elizabeth kept her head down, her cheeks becoming even pinker as Jack didn't stop her from gently pulling his shirt out of the waist of his pants.

The sound of the door opening caused Elizabeth to jump back as if she was caught in the act of doing something wrong.

"Haven't you gotten that shirt off yet? Miss Thatcher, it's a simple shirt. I'm not asking you to operate on him," the doctor said with a frown as he moved toward them.

"I'll. . . I'll. . I'll leave you two alone", Elizabeth stammered. As she hurried out the door, she could hear Jack chuckling.

Despite his painful shoulder, Jack couldn't help but smile. He was pretty positive by Elizabeth's reaction to him that she was not having an affair with Tim Smyth after all.

* * *

"How's Jack doing?"

"He's insufferable. He hasn't asked me yet or even mentioned it!", Elizabeth complained to Abigail as they stood in front of the sink and Abigail handed her a dish to dry.

"I meant about his injury", Abigail laughed.

"Oh, that. He's fine. It's been two days", she said dismissively. " I'm more concerned as to why he hasn't asked me to the Ball."

"Elizabeth, he probably doesn't think you want to go."

"Why would he think I don't want to go?!"

"Let's see. . . Maybe because you've hated your last two visits to Hamilton. You scoffed at the idea of going to the last ball he was invited to. He has no idea that Mr. Smyth has been giving you dancing lessons, or his late wife's dresses to alter so you have something fancy to wear to the ball,. . . . because you want to surprise him. And you haven't told him that his mother wrote to you to personally say she hoped that you'd be able to attend. "

"Good point."

"You seem to be getting very excited about this ball."

"I am. Mr. Smyth said they are a lot of fun. He was showing me some of his wife's dance cards. She saved them all. He still keeps them in his dresser drawer. It's really sweet seeing his name written next to several of the dances. I can tell when they started to become more serious because his name was written next to more and more dances", she added with a laugh. "We never had dance cards at our simple barn dances. I'll wear it around my wrist with a silk ribbon."

"Tim and his wife apparently used to go to a lot of balls before they moved here. She was quite the socialite in Toronto."

"Florence said she saw him crying the other night. I think it was after I had tried on the dress I was altering and showed it to him. Do you think he's okay? Helping me?", Elizabeth asked worriedly.

"I think that he's more than okay. You've opened him up. It's good for him to talk about his wife. And he likes helping you."

"Now I just need Jack to ask me."

"You're not still worried that he'll ask Lady Suzanna, are you?"

"I don't know. Lady Suzanna is everything I'm not. High society, social status."

"Elizabeth, that doesn't matter to Jack. He only has eyes for you. Everyone knows that. And you two get along so well together."

"We had a teeny argument", Elizabeth admitted with a frown. "I happened to mention to Jack that Suzanna seemed very eager to keep in contact with him since he moved here. . . She's writes him all the time. . . And he said she's feeling bad about her brother and needs an old friend. And I said that maybe she should try some other old friends. And then he said he likes his group of friends and he enjoys spending time with them like he did in Hamilton, and getting letters from them. And then I said the mail service works just fine and that there wasn't a reason why she had to come all this way. And then he said that there wasn't a reason for Clint to come all this way to try and lasso me. And then . . . . well, you get the picture."

* * *

Elizabeth decided that she was just going to have to ask Jack to the Ball. Her hard work with Mr. Smyth was not going to waste. She had learned the foxtrot, the one-step, the tango, and she could now waltz better than any country girl every needed to for a barn dance. Not to mention the hours she had spent late at night working on the most beautiful dress for the ball.

The only problem was that she and Jack weren't really talking to each other. Not since their fight over Suzanna the previous day.

* * *

Elizabeth was trying to keep the class awake as they worked on arithmetic.

"We have a garden full of fruit trees. One half of the trees are apple, one quarter of the trees are peach, and one-sixth of the trees are plum. The remaining 200 trees are cherry trees. How many trees are in the garden? "

The class remained silent as she stood at the chalkboard. _For Pete's sake_ , _I may need to throw fruit at these students to get their attention,_ she thought in frustration **.**

The children's heads turned when the door to the saloon opened and Jack walked in.

"Apologies for the interruption. I just need a minute of your time. It's important."

"Keep working on the problem, boys and girls. I'll only be a moment", Elizabeth said to the students.

"I hope you have a good reason for interrupting my class, constable." Elizabeth tried to pretend that she was irritated at the interruption, but she was secretly glad. _Even I was bored with my math lesson,_ she admitted to herself.

"I'm sorry, but I needed to talk with you and it couldn't wait", Jack said as he walked outside with Elizabeth following him.

"So you now have time to talk to me?", she asked as Jack led her around the corner of the building.

"I have been doing some investigation as to your mysterious attitude lately and I've come up with three possibilities", he responded as he leaned her against the building.

"Oh, really?" Elizabeth asked with raised eyebrows.

"One. You're having an affair with Mr. Smyth."

"I've decided against this possibility", he added quickly when he saw the look of shock in her eyes.

"Two. I've scared you away with my declarations of love."

"What's the third possibility?", she asked with a giggle.

"You would like me to ask you to the Hamilton Regal Ball."

When he saw the look of glee on her face, he continued with a smile, "Miss Elizabeth Thatcher, if you would be so inclined, I would love to have you please be my date to the Hamilton Regal Ball in two weeks **.**

* * *

The ballroom was exquisite. Massive chandeliers glowed with light, and flowers adorned every table surrounding the dance floor. The orchestra playing in the gallery had people tapping their feet even when they weren't dancing. The room was busy with women in elegant gowns, men in tuxedos and tailcoats, and waiters carrying silver trays of food and drinks.

"May I have a dance?", Jack asked as he took Elizabeth's wrap from her and handed it to an usher.

"Of course."

"Aren't you going to write it down on your dance card?", he inquired as he looked towards the fancy paper fan tied to her wrist, which listed each dance and music selection for the evening.

"I already did."

"I didn't tell you which dance I wanted", he said humorously.

"That's okay. I wrote your name down for all of them", she answered with a grin.

"Well, that's exactly the ones I wanted."

Elizabeth's heart gave a little flutter at the sincerity in his voice.

* * *

"I know you said that I could keep any of your wife's dresses that I wanted, but I only needed one for the dance. Thank you again. It was wonderful." Elizabeth said to Mr. Smyth as he let her in his door a few days after the dance.

"You're very welcome. They weren't doing any good just hanging in the closet. I'm glad you found a good use for one."

"That's why I'm here. I found a good use for _all_ of them", Elizabeth said with a smile as she handed Mr. Smyth a large bundle wrapped in brown paper.

* * *

After he had escorted Elizabeth out the door, Mr. Smyth sat on the edge of his bed, wiping the tears from his eyes. He laid the quilt across his bed. Reaching down he smoothed it out, pausing on each square. He knew that Elizabeth was a good seamstress, but he never imagined that she would sew together a quilt filled with so many memories.

* * *

"That was a very nice gift you made for Mr. Smyth out of his wife's dresses.", Jack remarked at dinner.

"He's been so sweet to me, I wanted to do something nice for him."

"I actually have a gift for you", Jack said as he handed a box to Elizabeth.

"For me? But why do I need a gift?", she asked as she began to open it.

Jack laughed as Elizabeth held up the cowbell and looked at it curiously.

"Because I'm tired of thinking I may have lost you", he said with a grin as he leaned over and kissed her.

 **Up next: Chapter 16**.

 **P.S. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed!**


	16. Chapter 16- Sickness and Health

**Chapter 16 - Sickness and Health**

Elizabeth paused to wipe the sweat from her forehead. Not anticipating how unseasonably warm it would get by the afternoon, she had overdressed to go riding. _I should have listened to the lumberjacks when they called it a heat wave._

Elizabeth was about to gently kick her horse to prod it forward, when she heard it.

 _Singing?_

 _That sounds like Jack,_ Elizabeth thought curiously as she got down from her horse.

Tying the reins to a nearby tree, she ran her fingers through her hair to tame it, and started making her way through the bushes and towards the creek bank, which was lined with large gray boulders.

 _Oh my goodness!_

Jack sat on a slab of rock, his bare back towards Elizabeth. She watched as he rubbed a bar of soap over his shoulders and then through his hair. He was no more than eight feet away but the water falling over the rocks near him drowned out any sound Elizabeth's footsteps made.

Elizabeth drew in a breath when Jack leaned forward and reached his hands down towards the water where his feet were dangling. As he bent down, he exposed to Elizabeth the area of his naked back just below the waist. _Unless he's wearing socks, which I highly doubt . ... . he's totally naked!_

She twirled around and leaned her back against a large tree trunk. _He's not wearing any clothes!_

 _And he has no idea I've seen him!_

Elizabeth peeked her head around the tree again, surveying the scene more closely. Jack's horse was tied to a tree close by; his clothes and shoes lay on the rocks. Oblivious to Elizabeth's watchful eyes, he continued to lazily sing and enjoy the afternoon sunshine and cool water as he now lathered his arms and then moved on to his legs.

 _This is wrong. I shouldn't be spying on him. . . . .But who knows when I'll get another opportunity like this. My goodness, he's nice looking_ , she thought as her eyes got wider. Elizabeth had never seen a naked man before but she had a pretty good idea that Jack was a nice specimen of the male gender.

 _He's got a birthmark!,_ she realized in surprise when she noticed a small light brown mark about two inches in size on his low back. _That's adorable! . . . I wonder . . . I wonder if our children will have birthmarks like that?,_ she thought with a smile.

When Jack moved to stand up from the rock, Elizabeth hurriedly closed her eyes and leaned back around the tree. Taking a deep breath, she looked to make sure that Jack's back was still turned. When she was sure he wasn't looking in her direction, she quietly tiptoed away and led her horse a good distance before getting into the saddle and riding back to town.

* * *

"Do you think all women want to get married?", Jack asked Bill as they rode slowly out of town a week later. The weather had turned cold again and the morning dew lay on the grass.

"I think so. Why do you ask?"

"When Elizabeth and I were in Hamilton last month, there was a conversation . . . and it kind of surprised me."

"What was it about?"

"My mother is involved with promoting education, and the day after the Ball, she invited some teachers and educators for a luncheon. Elizabeth was introduced to them and . . well, she really enjoyed talking with them. It was men and women. Her age and older. One of the men said that the best thing about teaching was that at the end of the day, you gave the kids back to their parents. Everyone laughed, including Elizabeth."

"So ?"

"So, I always imaged that teachers like children. And that one day, well . . . you know. . . . Elizabeth and I would get married and have children. One of the women was talking about traveling to Boston to listen to lectures, and a professor mentioned going to Europe for the summer to research. They're all involved in getting women the right to vote and educating people and taking classes themselves. And . . . well, all of them seemed to like being single and independent. Elizabeth was really interested in all the talk about traveling and learning new methods of teaching. If she's married to me, she won't be able to do all that. I'll want her to be with me. . . . living somewhere rustic . . . and having a family."

"Don't you and Elizabeth have an understanding?", Bill asked.

"An understanding about what?"

"I'm asking if you've made a proposal."

"I hinted at it once. But we haven't really talked about it."

"Why not?", Bill questioned in surprise. "The way you two act around each other, I thought it was a done deal."

"I'm not in any rush and she doesn't seem to be either. I guess that's what worries me. She doesn't seem to be in a hurry for me to ask her. As long as I can remember, I always thought that women are looking to get married. Especially when they get to a certain age. Even Lady Suzanna . . . who is nothing more than a friend" Jack hurriedly noted, " has recently made it clear to me that she'd be interested in my attentions. Don't mention that to Elizabeth."

Bill laughed. "I won't. So how did Lady Suzanna take your rejection? I'm assuming you rejected her."

"Let's just say, she probably won't be writing me any more letters."

* * *

That evening, Elizabeth, following Abigail's written directions exactly, seasoned a chicken and put it the oven while Jack sat at the table keeping her company and offering words of encouragement. He was also planning on being there to remind her to take it out of the oven. Jack had a feeling that the second after she washed her hands, she was itching to pick up the novel he had noticed on the counter, which is why he had hidden it behind his back.

"Smells good", Abigail remarked as she walked into the room carrying a laundry basket of linens fresh from the line. When she set down the basket on the table, Elizabeth reached in, took out some of the linens, and began folding the cloth napkins.

After a moment, Elizabeth held up one of white napkins. "Abigail, the coffee stain didn't come out of this one."

"I know. I won't be able to use it in the restaurant. I'll use it in the kitchen or turn it into a rag."

"It reminds me of your birthmark", Elizabeth said with a smile as she held up the cloth napkin for Jack to see the lightly colored brown stain in the shape of an irregular circle.

"How do you know about my birthmark?", Jack asked curiously with furrowed brows.

"You must have told me", Elizabeth replied hesitantly. _Oh, no! Why did I say anything?!,_ she thought in distraught.

""No, I didn't", Jack responded.

"You must have. You just don't remember," Elizabeth insisted.

Jack raised his eyebrows at Elizabeth. "Considering that the birthmark is on my lower back, I've only seen it on the rare occasion when I was a child and Tom insisted that I look at it using two mirrors. Which means that I barely think about it. Which means that I highly doubt that I mentioned it to you."

"Well . . . then . . . someone in Hamilton must have told me about it. Your mother, or your father, or Tom", Elizabeth stammered.

"Or perhaps it was the butler, or Ashley the maid, or maybe it was the milkman?" Jack offered helpfully with a smile.

"Don't be silly. It certainly wasn't the milkman", Elizabeth responded as she avoided looking at Jack and focused on folding the napkins as if they were the most important task of the day.

* * *

"I'm hoping you can help me with a case", Jack asked a few days later when he stopped by Elizabeth's place after his daily rounds. Taking off his hat, he stood there and smiled at her.

"Ooh , I'd love to. What can I do?" , she asked, her eyes lighting up.

Jack was usually so private about his investigations that Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised that he was asking for help. Once they were married, she intended to help him all the time. She just hadn't told him that yet.

"I'm working on a theory. Do you write in that journal of yours every day?"

"Not every day, but a lot. Why?"

"I'm trying to figure out the events of a date a while ago. I'm hoping maybe you wrote something down that could help me."

"Let me get my journal", Elizabeth said eagerly as she quickly went upstairs.

A minute later, she hurried down the stairs with her journal in her hand.

"I generally write down my thoughts for the day and if I met anyone new or did anything unique. Or maybe if something had an impact on me, I'll write it down", she explained happily. "Now, what day are you interested in?"

"It was the Wednesday before last, the 18th", Jack said seriously.

"Wednesday before last. . . Wednesday before last. . .. Let me see", Elizabeth repeated as she thumbed through her journal.

"Wednesday, the 18th." _Oh, damn!_ , Elizabeth thought as she read the entry to herself.

 _Dear Journal,_

 _The most incredibly interesting thing happened today. I should probably feel guilty, but wow! I came upon Jack bathing down by the river and saw_

Elizabeth slammed the journal shut as Jack crossed the room to her.

"Well, what's it say for that day?", Jack asked.

"Nothing! Sorry. I don't have anything for that day" Elizabeth hastily explained, her cheeks getting rosy. Before Jack could take the journal from her hand, she quickly shoved it into the nearby cupboard, closing the drawer, and leaning against it.

"You didn't write anything for that day?", Jack asked. The letdown was evident in his voice.

"No. Sorry. As I said, I don't write every day."

"Now that is disappointing", Jack said with a sigh.

"That I can't help you with your investigation?", Elizabeth asked with a frown.

"No. That you saw me naked and didn't think it was interesting enough to write in your journal", Jack said with a smile as he put his hat back on.

Elizabeth's face turned even pinker as she stood there flabbergasted. Jack, with a twinkle in his eye, grabbed the brim of his hat and slightly tipped it to her before walking out the door.

* * *

When Jack left the mercantile the next day, he nearly bumped into Elizabeth as she was walking in the door. He noted that her cheeks had a rosy glow, and he smiled that she was still blushing about having been discovered watching him bathe at the creek. _She's so adorable_ , he thought to himself as they made dinner plans for later that evening.

* * *

"Why are you covered in two blankets?", a hungry Jack asked hours later as he walked into the parlor from the kitchen and saw Elizabeth scrunched in the corner of the couch with a book.

"I was cold", she responded as she gave a little shudder.

"And getting colder, I sense. Your fire's almost out", Jack said as he opened the potbelly stove and looked inside. Without asking, he grabbed some more pieces of wood and fed them into the stove.

"Thank you, Jack. I should have noticed that but I was starting to fall asleep. Do you mind if we take a rain-check on dinner. I'm not too hungry and may just go up to bed soon."

"Sure. Is everything okay?"

"It's fine. I'm just a little tired. I had a long day at school and then visited some students who were sick to check on them and bring them school work. And then, I was helping Bo with his reading. It's just been a terribly long day."

* * *

As Jack walked to the Saloon for some cornbread and chili, he realized how much he missed having dinner with Elizabeth. They had gotten into such a nice routine that he felt a little lonely without her, even if it was just for one meal.

He thought back to when he had first come to town. Getting seriously involved with someone had been the last thing on his mind. _Mounties don't marry._ If the Mounties wanted him to have a wife, they would have issued him one. He'd like to tell the Mounties a thing or two. _Boy, did they have things wrong._

The only concern that still nagged at Jack was that Elizabeth still hadn't actually ever said she'd marry him. Of course, he hadn't officially asked her yet, but still . . . she had never asked him when, or even if, he was going to propose. _Am I misreading the signs? Does she not want to marry me one day? Does she think that marriage will get in the way of her teaching?_

 _She's an independent woman._

 _I know she likes my company . . . And I'm pretty positive she's finds me attractive . . . especially after she saw me naked. . ._

 _Maybe she doesn't believe in marriage._

 _Why are women so complicated?!_

* * *

The next morning, Jack was surprised to see several children playing in the street on his way to the livery. When he took his watch out of his pocket and saw the time, he frowned slightly. Elizabeth should have started school ten minutes ago.

"Boys, shouldn't you be in school?" Jack asked as he approached the small crowd throwing a ball against the building.

"Miss Thatcher's not here yet", a small boy with unruly blond hair answered with a shrug as he caught the ball.

Jack frowned again and moved towards the entrance to the Saloon, walking past several girls sitting on the steps. Inside, more children were mingling about.

"Has anyone seen Miss Thatcher this morning?", he asked loudly.

All eyes turned to him. "She's not here", several voices answered in unison.

* * *

"Abigail, have you seen Elizabeth this morning? She's not at the Saloon for school", Jack asked when he stopped by the Café instead of going to the livery.

Abigail looked at Jack as she took muffins out of the oven and put them on a plate. "I haven't seen her. I just assumed she skipped breakfast and went straight to the Saloon. I've been very busy this morning so I really didn't think about it."

"Would you mind going to check on her?"

Jack, waiting at the bottom of stairs, remembered that Elizabeth had seemed tired last night and hadn't had much of an appetite.

"She's asleep, Jack. I tried to wake her, but she's very tired,"Abigail informed him as she walked down the steps.

"Is she coming down with something? She was chilled last night."

"Whatever she _was_ coming down with, she _has_. She's burning up with fever", Abigail said. "I'll get some ice to put on her forehead and give her some aspirin when she wakes up. She probably has the same bug that was going around some of her students. I'll take care of her if you let the students know that there's no school today."

* * *

"What are you doing here?", Jack asked in surprise when the door opened and Elizabeth walked into the jail at nine o'clock that night.

Instead of immediately responding, she stood there, dressed in her nightgown and with a thin shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Jack looked to her feet and noticed that she was barefoot.

"What are _you_ doing here?", Elizabeth finally responded with her own question.

"You don't know, do you?", Jack asked curiously as he stood up and walked across the wooden floor to her.

"Of course, I know. Know what?", Elizabeth asked with a frown.

"What you're doing here."

"Of course, I do", she said adamantly. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"I work here", Jack said with a smile.

"Here?" Elizabeth looked around in surprise.

"Jails are for Mounties, Elizabeth", he said patiently as he noticed her sleepy confused look.

"Mounties are for teachers", she responded knowingly.

Jack chuckled. "Yes, they certainly are. Now I think your fever has caused you some confusion or caused you to sleepwalk. So I'm going to carry you back to your place."

Elizabeth gasped when Jack easily swooped her up in his arms.

"Jack, I don't need any help", she protested.

"We'll argue about that later."

* * *

Once back at her place, Elizabeth tried to get Jack to join her on the couch.

"You should be upstairs getting some more rest", he informed her.

"I'm fine right where I am."

"You've got a fever. You should be in bed."

"Jack, as much as I like the idea of having you tend to me hand and foot, I'm not an invalid."

"Just a very bad patient."

"Well, if you want to get me that blanket, I won't object."

" _I_ will object. You are going upstairs and back to bed", Jack said as he lifted her up in his arms again and began carrying her upstairs with Abigail leading the way. Elizabeth, enjoying the feeling of being in his arms again and realizing how tired she felt, decided not to protest.

"She's still feverish, Abigail. She'll need some more cold washcloths."

"Thank you for carrying me, Jack. You know, you really shouldn't be in my bedroom", Elizabeth said as she held onto Jack while he moved across the room.

"I'm leaving now, Elizabeth", he responded with a smile as he set her down on her bed.

"I remember why I went to the jail."

"Why?"

"To apologize for spying on you. I've seen you naked", she blurted out.

Jack chuckled. "I suspected as much."

"You're _very_ nice looking", Elizabeth added as she crawled under the covers.

"Ahem. I'll pretend I haven't heard this conversation. And I think you should pretend the same thing, Jack", Abigail said with raised eyebrows as she motioned to Jack that it was time for him to leave.

"I believe you're right, Abigail", Jack said humorously.

* * *

Late the next morning, Elizabeth woke up feeling refreshed. Sleeping for more than 36 hours with only one five minute walk to the jail in one's nightgown, which she didn't even remember, was quite refreshing.

When Elizabeth stopped by the jail to let Jack know she was feeling better, she found him sprawled on his bed. From the way Rip hurried out of the building to relieve himself, Elizabeth surmised that Jack had been asleep for quite some time. Glancing at the potbelly stove, she noticed that the fire had gone out. She took two logs from the small stack nearby, placed them in the stove, and re-lit the fire to get the chill out of the air. After letting Rip back inside, Elizabeth took one more glance at Jack and then quietly left, closing the door behind her.

An hour later, Elizabeth let Rip out again when she came to check on Jack. She tiptoed across the room and looked at him lying on his side in his bed. His pillow was thrown to one side and the covers were mostly on the floor. When she leaned over and placed a palm on his forehead, he moved restlessly. As she suspected, Jack wasn't just tired, he was feverish. Elizabeth took the crushed ice from the bucket she was carrying and wrapped it a small towel, which she then placed on his forehead. She placed the aspirin from her pocket on his nightstand and went to get him some water from the outside pump.

When Elizabeth came back inside, she was surprised to see Jack standing up and holding onto his dresser, his back to her. Jack looked over his shoulder and glanced at her.

"Elizabeth, get out of here", he ordered.

Elizabeth ignored him, and instead went to his clothes area and got fresh nightclothes for him.

Jack kept his back turned and threw up again into his wash basin while Elizabeth quickly pulled the sheets off his bed. She then held out a towel for him while he retched for the third time.

As he stood there trembling with fever, Jack reached for the towel and wiped his mouth. "You shouldn't be here. Go. This can't be pleasant for you."

"It's nothing I haven't seen plenty of times before. Don't forget, I'm a teacher. I've probably seen more children vomit than a doctor has. Now I'm going to get you some fresh sheets. Yours are soaked with sweat. You sit here and take these", she said as she handed him the aspirin and gently pushed him down until he was sitting on the bed. Jack swallowed the pills and watched as Elizabeth took the wash basin out the back door.

* * *

"You don't have to take care of me, but I appreciate it", Jack said as he sat slumped in his chair fifteen minutes later and watched Elizabeth make his bed with fresh sheets she had brought from her place. He knew he looked like hell. He hadn't shaved in a day, his hair was disheveled, he was sweaty even while feeling chilled, and he didn't have the strength to put on the fresh nightclothes she had handed him earlier. His trip to the outhouse had left him feeling like he had run a marathon. He was amazed Elizabeth even wanted to be in the same room as him.

"I don't mind", Elizabeth said with a smile as she fluffed up his pillow in a fresh pillowcase. She moved to feed Rip and fill his bowl with fresh water, put another log in the stove, and then placed a fresh glass of water on the small table beside Jack's bed. She walked over and put her arm around Jack, helping him back to bed. "Try to change your clothes and drink this water. I'll be back to check on you in a few hours."

Elizabeth had reached the door, when she heard Jack call out to her.

"Elizabeth, thank you", Jack said with all the strength he could muster.

"It's good practice", she replied with a smile.

"Practice? For what?" he asked in confusion.

"When we're together."

"Together?" Jack was still confused.

"You know that whole 'in sickness and in health thing'", she said. "You didn't think we were just going to say "for richer, for poorer", did you? We're saying it all." "Especially now that I've seen you naked", she added with a smile. "Now get some more sleep, Constable Thornton."

 **Up next: Chapter 17.**


	17. Chapter 17 - The Cost of Forgiveness

**Chapter 17 – The Cost of Forgiveness**

"Elizabeth said she'd be down in a minute. She's still getting dressed."

"She's been getting dressed for the last ten minutes," Jack responded to Abigail as he got up to stretch his legs.

"She needed to change after school. Apparently the field trip to the pond got quite messy. She said the students were a handful", Abigail said with a laugh. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

Jack sighed and sat back down looking around the simple room and anticipating a long wait while Elizabeth got dressed. Fingering the pillow on the couch, he correctly assumed that Elizabeth had sewed the blue and white cushion. It was nice but certainly different from the silk damask pillows which adorned the living room at his family mansion in Hamilton. Elizabeth with her independence, simple ways, determination, and intelligence was unlike any woman he had ever met.

A gust of wind blew in the open window and picked up sheets of paper from the nearby desk floating them into the air before distributing them across the floor like white birds landing after taking a short flight.

Jack crossed the room and closed the window before moving to pick up the papers. As he squatted down and gathered up the last of the scattered sheets, Jack, more out of Mountie habit than the need to know who was writing to Elizabeth, unconsciously glanced at the words.

He stood up, carrying the sheets of paper to the desk while his eyes continued to scan the page as he found himself unable to break away. _What is this? This can't be right?_

Jack felt a sense of uneasiness come over him as he read the words again.

 _Dear Elizabeth,_

 _I'm back home visiting family for a bit. Everyone's asking about you. I told them that you're doing real well for yourself. Just wanted to let you know about Sandy. My mom and dad are moving into a small place in town and can't keep her any longer. My sister, Eileen, and her husband offered to take her in. They got room for her and will give her a good home. When I saw how big she got, I thought about how I helped deliver her and how you cried the whole time cuz you were so worried and she was so small. Well, she's a handful. Your kid is just as independent and stubborn as you. She's definitely got your personality! She still has that ailment that causes her to faint (which happens at least once a week), but there's nothing we can do about that, and she's doing fine otherwise. Anyhow, she's in good hands with my sis. Your family still wants nothing to do with her. Of course, if you want her and can give her a home, I can arrange a trip to bring her to you. Are you still courting that rich city boy Mountie? I don't think he'd appreciate Sandy and me showing up. He don't seem like the type to want her living with you. Course, he's got enough money, it's not like he couldn't afford a nanny if you two get hitched!_

 _Clint_

Jack read the paragraph three times. _What the hell?!_ He didn't normally curse, but if ever a time called for it, this was it. _Elizabeth had a child with Clint?!_

* * *

When Elizabeth came down the staircase 15 minutes later, she was surprised to find that Jack wasn't there. All Abigail could tell her was that Jack said that something had come up and he wouldn't be able spend the evening with her.

* * *

Jack spent a restless evening thinking about how little he knew about Elizabeth's life before they had met. He finally fell asleep only to have images of Clint kissing and touching Elizabeth cause him to toss and turn all night.

As much as Jack desired Elizabeth, he had always assumed that they would wait until they were married. The idea that the arrogant cowboy had been with her turned his stomach. When he woke up the next morning, he was just as confused and upset as when he had first read the letter, only now he was irritable from a lack of sleep.

When he saw Elizabeth leaving the Café and heading towards the saloon for the school day, Jack knew that needed to give her the chance to explain. He realized that the few minutes before school were not the ideal time, but he couldn't wait any longer

"Elizabeth, we've talked about having things in our past before. I understand that life can be messy. But I don't think people in relationships can have secrets", he said as matched his stride to hers.

"I agree. So what do you want to tell me?"

"Me?"

"Well, yes. I assume you have a secret. That's why you took off yesterday."

"What about you? Do you still have any secrets to tell me?"

Elizabeth laughed. "I gave you a long list of my secrets. That's it for me. And I thought you had told me all of yours. "

"You have nothing else to tell me?", Jack prodded her.

"No. Now, what's going on?"

"I'm not so sure you're being honest with me about your life", he said in disappointment.

Elizabeth stopped walking and turned to look at Jack. "Not being honest?", she repeated in surprise.

"You're not the woman I thought you were", Jack said when he realized that Elizabeth was not going to tell him about Sandy.

"Jack, what is that supposed to mean?"

Jack took a deep breath and tried to control his mixed-up feelings. "When I was at your place yesterday, I saw the letter Clint sent you."

"Aahh. Now it's starting to make sense. Jack, you don't need to be jealous. The past is in the past", Elizabeth said as she began walking again.

"Elizabeth, how can you say that? You had a life before me. You and Clint and -"

"So what? You had a life before me."

"How could you . . . how could you leave that behind? You had obligations."

"It was already over between me and Clint. I didn't have an obligation to him. And I know my family depended on me somewhat but my mother encouraged me to go to college. I wanted to become a teacher. I needed to leave home to do that. I thought you understood how much being a teacher meant to me."

"How could you leave Sandy behind? "

"Jack, I certainly wasn't going to let a kid stand in my way of going to teacher's college", Elizabeth said dismissively.

"I can't believe how cavalier you're being. For God's sake, you had a kid!", Jack practically shouted.

"Jack, people have kids all the time in the country. It's not that big a deal. They're adorable but they're also work. I didn't need the burden. I wasn't ready at age 16 to commit the next 15 to 18 years of my life to taking care of her."

When Jack stood there with a flabbergasted look on his face, Elizabeth shrugged.

"Seriously, she was a handful. Everything ended up in her mouth. Whenever I would read, she'd try crawling into my lap to grab my book. "

"Jack, you know how much I love my books", Elizabeth explained quickly when she saw Jack's shocked look.

 _My goodness, he's taking this seriously_ , she thought curiously.

"Your books? You were concerned with your precious books?!" Jack exclaimed in disbelief.

It was Elizabeth's turn to look shocked.

"Jack, she was chewing on my Jane Austens! She turned "Sense and Sensibilities" into "Sense and Sens"! She chewed on the cover of "Pride and Prejudice" so it was just "Prejudice! Who wants to read a book called "Prejudice?!"

Jack didn't get a chance to respond as the students started heading in their direction. Elizabeth shook her head in confusion and walked into the Saloon to begin the school day.

Jack realized that even if he had time to respond, he wouldn't have any idea what to say to her. _Who is this woman?! How could I seriously have thought about marrying her?_

* * *

"Did you ever find out why Jack's been acting so distant?", Abigail asked as the two women sat down for a cup of tea after school and during a lull in the Cafe crowd.

"He found out that Clint wrote me a letter and he's not too happy about it. I don't see why he has any reason to be upset. Lady Suzanna has written him enough letters to keep the postal service in business for the next ten years and I never complain."

"Actually, you did", Abigail reminded her with a smile.

"That's not important", Elizabeth said dismissively.

"Did Clint write anything specific that caused Jack to get upset?"

"No. Just that my goat is going to live with his sister. My goodness, if a simple letter about a goat can cause Jack to get jealous, I don't know him as well as I thought."

"The goat you helped deliver? What was her name again?"

"Sandy. Named after the color of her hair. I was quite the imaginative teenager", Elizabeth said with a chuckle.

* * *

The next afternoon, Jack decided to give Elizabeth one more opportunity to explain. He knew that his city-life growing up had been far different from her life, but he reasoned that they still must have the same basic morals; she must have cared. _Maybe Elizabeth really thought it was better for the little girl to be left behind because of her poor health,_ Jack thought, trying to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"Elizabeth, I know how much you wanted to be a teacher. But I can't stop thinking about Sandy", he said as stopped by her place after his rounds.

"For Pete's sake, Jack. Are we bringing her up again?"

"I just want to understand. Why didn't you take her with you went you went to teacher's college?"

"Take her with me? Don't be silly. I was trying to leave my small-town past behind me. Can you imagine the talk? Country girl brings kid to college. I would have been laughed at."

"Laughed at? Is that what you cared about?", Jack thought in dismay.

"Besides, she was much better off left behind."

 _If Elizabeth would just show some compassion for her daughter! I'd pay whatever it costs to get Sandy the best doctors. We could take her to Hamilton or Toronto to see specialists! Whatever it takes so she can lead a good life despite her fainting. Poor thing probably has a weak heart,_ Jack thought.

"Because of her fainting? Was that why you left her behind?", Jack asked as he silently willed Elizabeth to answer with kindness. _Just show some feelings, Elizabeth!,_ he thought desperately.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I know I shouldn't laugh. But it really was the funniest thing. Whenever she got scared by a loud noise, her skinny little legs would stiffen up and then she'd faint. It was so funny to see the poor thing fall over."

Jack looked at Elizabeth in disgust. _I don't even know you!,_ he thought.

"I've got to get out of here", Jack said icily as he turned and quickly walked out, leaving a bewildered Elizabeth standing in her parlor.

* * *

"If Jack was a woman, I'd swear it was that time of the month for him! ", Elizabeth said in frustration, causing Abigail to choke on her water.

"Elizabeth!"

"He's so irritable. And he's still obsessed about that stupid goat that Clint gave me."

"Why does Jack care so much that you had a goat?", Abigail asked curiously.

"I have no idea!", Elizabeth said as she threw up her hands in exasperation.

* * *

"Jack, please come inside so we can talk", Elizabeth said pleasantly when Jack walked by the entrance to her place on his way to the jail two days later. Without giving him a chance to refuse, Elizabeth grabbed Jack's hand and led him inside.

"We've barely spoken this week. Sit down, I'll get you a snack.", she said cheerily.

Jack stood there, ignoring her offer to sit. "There isn't much to discuss. I think you've made things perfectly clear", he said coldly.

"Clear about what?"

"I think we are two different people from two different worlds. Let's just leave it at that", Jack said as he moved towards the door.

"I don't want to leave it at that. What is bothering you?", she asked in mild frustration as she tried to keep a hold of Jack's hand, which he wrenched out of her grip.

"What is bothering me is your lack of compassion. Your total indifference to Sandy. Your selfishness at putting your teaching ahead of her and the life you had made for yourself", Jack said angrily.

"I was not going to give up my career for a goat!", Elizabeth exclaimed. She shook her head in disbelief over Jack's attitude as she opened the cupboard and took out a plate, setting in on the counter.

"A goat?" Jack said quizzically.

"What did you think we were talking about?", Elizabeth asked curiously as she reached into the cookie jar and took out some oatmeal cookies, taking a nibble out of one before putting the others on the plate.

"I'm talking about a kid", Jack said hesitantly.

"Well, she's not a kid now. For goodness sakes, she's got to be a nanny by now. It's been a few years. They don't stay kids for long. "

"A nanny?"

"Jack, sometimes I forget how little you know about country living. A mother goat is called a nanny. I assume you know that a baby goat is called a kid. What did you think we've been talking about?", Elizabeth asked again casually over her shoulder as she took some glasses down from the cupboard and went to icebox to get the milk.

Jack didn't answer at first but pulled out the simple wooden kitchen chair and sat down at the table, practically falling into the chair with relief. _My God, what an idiot I've been,_ he thought with embarrassment _._

"I thought a nanny was just someone who takes care of children", he finally said in a barely audible voice as he lowered his head into his hand and leaned his elbow on the table. "Clint said I could afford one if you wanted Sandy to live with us. . . . . I guess he meant I could afford keeping a goat."

When he looked up, Jack noticed that Elizabeth wasn't moving. Her hand was motionless on the opened icebox door, but she wasn't making any attempt to take anything out. In fact, she didn't even appear to be looking at the icebox contents.

It was at that moment that Jack knew that he was in trouble.

A wave of realization had washed over Elizabeth.

"You . . .You thought I had a child? A baby?!"

"It was just silly misunderstanding", Jack said with a weak laugh.

"Why would I have a fainting baby who ate books?!", Elizabeth shouted incredulously.

"Okay, I admit, I don't get that whole fainting thing", Jack said with a shrug.

"But babies chew on things!", he hastily added in his defense.

"Do you honestly think that if I had a baby, I would be stupid enough to name it after her hair color?!"

"I guess I didn't think about that.. . I thought maybe it was short for Sandra", Jack said with a grimace. "And you said you'd be responsible for her for 15 to 18 years!", he added for good measure.

"That's how long a goat can live, you idiot!", she retorted.

"You thought I would abandon my child?!", Elizabeth yelled in bewilderment.

"It was just a silly misunderstanding", Jack said as he cringed from her yelling.

"A silly misunderstanding?! These past few days. That's what you've been thinking? That I - I can't even say it! Me? Doing _that_?! With someone? What kind of girl did you think I was?! I HAVEN'T EVEN DONE THAT WITH YOU AND I LOVE YOU!"

"See, you love me. And I love you. That's all that's important. That you love me", Jack said good-naturedly as he tried to make light of his stupid, and obviously very wrong, assumptions about her prior life.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that anymore!" Elizabeth retorted with fury.

"Elizabeth - "Jack said with a smile as he stood up and moved to put his arms on her.

"You think so little of me?!", Elizabeth's eyes were wide in shock and her voice displayed astonishment.

"And you say I'm not the woman you thought I was. You're not the man I thought you were," she said coldly.

* * *

The problem with living in the same building as a Café is that there tend to be a lot of people in the building during the day. A lot of people who seem to have nothing better to do than put down their forks and listen to a very angry teacher yelling at a very stupid feeling Mountie.

By the time Elizabeth had stormed upstairs to her room, the Café patrons weren't sure what exactly Jack had done wrong, but they knew he had definitely done something very very wrong.

 _I messed up. Boy, did I mess up,_ Jack thought as he walked back to the jail in disgrace.

* * *

 _ **Monday**_

"I see the customers are eating my box of chocolates to her", Jack said with a frown when he noticed the open, and half-empty, box on the Café counter.

Abigail gave Jack a sympathetic shrug.

"What about the bag of jellybeans? Did she at least keep them?", Jack asked hopefully.

"She did pause with those. I'll admit she was reluctant to refuse them at first . . but she did", Abigail said as she reached under the counter and handed the bag of candy back to Jack.

"She's not ready to forgive me yet, is she?", Jack asked.

There was no need for Abigail to respond, Jack already knew the answer.

* * *

 _ **Tuesday**_

The jailhouse door opening caused Jack to look up from his desk. He stood up and looked hopefully at Abigail, but his face dropped when he saw the book in her hand.

"I'm sorry, Jack. She asked me to give it back to you. She said she already read it."

"And she didn't want to keep it? Maybe read it again? ", Jack asked about his gift to Elizabeth.

"She threw it across the room, so I'm guessing no", Abigail answered with a grimace.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday**_

"How much do I owe you?", Jack asked Mr. Yost as he placed a bag of coffee and small can of shoe polish on the counter.

"Nothing. You have credit. That bottle of perfume you bought yesterday. Miss Thatcher returned it unopened. She said just to credit your account."

"Did she say anything else?"

Mr. Yost looked embarrassed for Jack. Looking around, he lowered his voice so that Florence and Molly who were standing nearby wouldn't hear him despite their best efforts.

"Her exact words were 'If Constable Thornton asks why I'm returning it, you can tell him that I'm not the skunk in this relationship'."

* * *

 _ **Thursday afternoon**_

"It's a beautiful scarf, Jack. Really it is. But she just didn't want it", Abigail said sympathetically as she handed the long woolen scarf to Jack.

"What did she say this time?"

"Something to do with using it as a noose or gagging you with it."

* * *

 **Thusday evening**

Jack stretched his back as he left the jail and walked towards the saloon for some dinner. As he walked past the mercantile, two girls playing in the street ran to walk with him.

"Hello Emily and Sara. How are you today?", he asked pleasantly.

"Mountie Jack, What's a Neanderthral?", the little brown-haired girl asked as she held onto her doll.

"A Neanderthral? That's a pretty grown up word for you and your dolly", Jack chuckled.

"It's one of our new vocabulary words from Miss Thatcher. My ma says it must have something to do with you."

* * *

 _ **Friday**_

After leaving his horse at the livery at the end of his daily rounds, Jack hurried to the Café. He realized that he was actually starting to sweat with anxiety as he got closer to the building.

When Abigail looked up from the counter, and saw Jack walk in the front door, he didn't like the look she gave him. He liked to think that being a Mountie made him pretty good at reading people, and from all indications, Abigail wasn't giving him a promising look.

Jack quickly gave up all hope that Elizabeth had forgiven him when Abigail put down the silverware she had been sorting and took a box out of her apron pocket.

"I'm sorry, Jack", she said as she handed the small square box to him.

"Did she say anything?"

Abigail looked embarrassed for Jack.

"She said , 'He managed to put two earrings in the same box this time. I suppose I should be impressed.'"

* * *

 _ **Saturday morning**_

Jack sat nervously at the last available Café table waiting for Elizabeth to come out of the kitchen. It may have been his imagination, but he was pretty sure that everyone in the Café was curious as to what was about to happen.

Hope Valley may not have a theater, but the townsfolk had certainly being enjoying the week's unofficial performance of "The Apologetic Mountie" and this morning was no different. Jack noticed several heads looking towards the kitchen waiting for the leading lady to come out.

"What do you want?", Elizabeth said curtly when she approached Jack's table.

"You're looking very pretty today, Elizabeth", Jack said. _"_ Your dress is nice."

"It's not a ball gown and you've seen me wear it at least a dozen times," Elizabeth responded in a bored voice.

"Your hair looks pretty too."

"It's the same hair I've always had. Now what do you want?", she asked tiredly.

"I want us to talk"

"I meant what do you want to eat. If you're not going to order, please leave and give the table to someone who came here to eat."

Jack sighed. To the disappointment of the diners, who had momentarily stopped eating, he was not going to make a scene in a crowded Café. He may not have a lot of pride left, but he still had some. Standing up, he handed a large envelope to Elizabeth. "This is for you."

* * *

 _ **Saturday afternoon**_

Jack's heart started to race when he looked up from the saloon table and saw Elizabeth walking towards him. He wasn't sure if he saw contempt or irritation in her eyes. Whatever it was, he was pretty sure that it wasn't love.

Without a word, Elizabeth handed him the large envelope and walked away. Jack had stayed up late last night drawing the picture of the two of them. He had spent an inordinate amount of time drawing his eyes gazing at her pencil face, making sure that they conveyed the love and trust that he had in her.

Elizabeth's words written on the outside of the envelope were curt and the ink seemed to drip with sarcasm.

 _Jack, I am returning your drawing because I don't know who the man is. He appears to be looking at me with love and trust, so I knew it couldn't be you._

Jack sighed.

Six days and seven rejected gifts.

Elizabeth was not giving in.

"Seems like you got yourself in a pickle. Mind if I sit?" Tim Smyth asked as he motioned to the empty chair across from Jack.

"Go ahead. It looks like Elizabeth won't be joining me anytime soon", Jack said resignedly.

"May I make a suggestion?"

"I've pretty much given her every gift I can think of, so a suggestion would be good."

"Give her what she wants", Tim offered.

Jack gave a sad chuckle and shook his head. "Tim, I know you're trying to be helpful. But unless you're going to be more specific, I'm thinking you're not too helpful right about now."

"She wants the same thing you wanted", Tim responded simply as he took a sip of his beer.

When Jack gave him a confused look, the older man continued speaking.

"Jack, would you still love her if she really had a child with another man?"

Jack had been thinking about that all week. "I'm not going to lie. It was hard thinking about her with another man and having his child. I was jealous. Mad. Hurt. But if it were true . . . if she really did have a child, and I had known about it from the beginning, I would have been okay with it. I know she didn't grow up with all the possibilities I had. I still would have loved her anyway if she had explained it to me when we first met. It was the fact that I thought she had kept it from me. That I thought that she wasn't honest. That's what really got to me."

"That's what she wants, Jack. She wants you to be honest. With her. About your feelings. You can't just chalk this up to some silly misunderstanding. Your lack of trust in her is probably what's eating at her more than you thinking that she had, . . . shall we say, an inappropriate relationship and abandoned a child. Although, that's pretty bad. . . . How could you?"

"I know. I know. I was an idiot. But she does that to me. She makes me all crazy. I think about her all the time. You ever have a woman do that to you?", Jack asked.

"I did."

"What'd you do about it?"

"I married her. Best years of my life", Tim answered with a smile.

"Elizabeth won't even talk to me", Jack said wearily.

"You got paper, don't you? And a pencil? Write her," Tim said as he finished his beer and stood up.

"What if she won't forgive me?"

Tim chuckled. "Of course she's going to forgive you . . . . eventually. She loves you."

Tim was walking away when Jack called out to him.

"Tim, you ever heard of a fainting goat?"

"Sure. Good for meat. Not so good for dairy."

"And they really faint?", Jack asked curiously.

"Fall right over when they get scared. There's some fancy name for it. Myotonic. We just always called them fainting goats. It doesn't hurt them . . . .

. . . Jack, you may have a fancy school education but you got a lot to learn about country living and about women", Tim added with a smile.

* * *

 _ **Saturday night**_

"I'm leaving early tomorrow morning. I'll be gone for a few days. Will you make sure she gets it?", Jack asked as he handed the envelope to Abigail.

"I'll be sure to give it to her."

"And make sure she reads it. It's important", Jack added.

* * *

 _ **Wednesday afternoon**_

For the last hour Jack had thought about what he would do when he got back to town. He would drop off his horse at the livery, and then shave and take a bath. It wouldn't do to have Elizabeth see him with all the dirt and sweat of living outside for the last few days. Then he'd stop by the barber for a haircut. He'd put on a nice set of clothes . . . definitely the blue shirt she liked best . . . He'd pick up a gift at the mercantile, . . . and then he'd wait. He'd sit on the front porch or leave the door to the jailhouse open so she'd know he was back in town, and he'd wait. _If she's read my letter and loves me, she'll find me to tell me that she's forgiven me_.

20 minutes outside of town, Jack adjusted his plans slightly. _I'll skip the haircut. That takes too much time._

10 minutes outside of town, Jack decided to skip the idea of getting a gift at the mercantile. _She doesn't want a gift and what if she stops by the jail while I'm at the mercantile._

5 minutes outside of town, he adjusted his plans again. _I don't need to leave the horse at the livery. I'll just tie him up outside the jail. That way, she'll know I'm back in town and I won't waste time walking back from the livery._

2 minutes outside of town, Jack realized he didn't want to wait any longer.

 _Oh, the heck with everything. I'll just ride by the saloon and see if she's outside._

When Jack rode into town, he could tell it was recess. He halted his horse and watched from a distance as children threw a ball in the street and played jacks on the wooden sidewalk. Elizabeth's back was to him as she reached down and picked up one of the smaller children, a five year old girl in pigtails sadly displaying a scrape on her elbow to Elizabeth, who promptly fixed it with a gentle kiss.

Elizabeth, now holding the girl affectionately on her hip, was wearing a simple blouse with a wide white sash and pale blue skirt. Jack remembered the outfit. Elizabeth had to scrub the blouse several times to get out the stain left by his kiss after he had eaten a piece of chocolate. He smiled when he thought about that day. The chocolate stain reminded him of the coffee stain on the white napkin, which reminded him of his birthmark and Elizabeth seeing him naked. Which reminded him of the adorable way she blushed. The image of her rosy cheeks made Jack think about how she had been feverish. _And then I was sick and she took care of me._ _What an idiot I've been._

As Elizabeth gathered up the school children and led them back inside for afternoon lessons, she glanced down the street. When she saw Jack, she stopped walking and stared at him. Even from a distance, Jack could see her face break into a smile.

She had read his letter.

She had forgiven him.

Jack knew right then that he and Elizabeth were going to have a house full of their own children one day.

 _And we are NEVER going to call them kids_! Jack promised himself.

 **Up next: Chapter 18.**

 **Dear Readers: I hope you enjoyed it!**


	18. Chapter 18 - A Rose by any other Name

**Chapter 18-** **A rose by any other name would smell as sweet**

 _Cathy and Heathcliff_

 _Meg March and John Brooke_

 _Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth_

 _Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy_

 _It's all so romantic,_ Elizabeth thought as she sat on her picnic blanket holding one book in her hands and looking at the other novels in her basket. She hadn't been able to decide which one to re-read so she had brought them all with _._

When she heard the shouts of children chasing their kites, Elizabeth looked over in their direction and then at her watch. _I've been out here reading for more than an hour!_

Hearing a noise from behind, Elizabeth turned and looked in the direction of an approaching horse.

"Hello, Constable Thornton. What happens to bring you by this time?" she said, using her formal voice in case any students were within earshot.

"Actually I was just out on patrol", Jack responded with a smile, thinking it was sweetly naïve how Elizabeth often pretended that her students were oblivious to their growing affection for each other.

"Well, what a happy coincidence you should just happen upon me here in the wilderness".

Jack expertly dismounted his horse and sat down on the blanket next to Elizabeth, who gave a little shiver as a gust of wind blew by. When he noticed her tremble, Jack unbuttoned his jacket and before she could protest, he had placed it around her.

"I was getting a little chilly. It's just so beautiful, I lost track of the time."

"Well, let me warm you up a little more", Jack said as he moved closer and put his arm around her.

"You shouldn't put your arm around me", she whispered. "Not in front of the children."

"I don't have my arm around you. I have my arm on my coat. You just happened to be in my coat", Jack explained seriously, but with a twinkle in his eyes.

Realizing that she couldn't argue with his logic, and noticing the children walking back towards town, Elizabeth snuggled closer. _I do like his logic . . .and the way he smells . . . and . . well, the way he feels of course._

* * *

"Jack, how come you don't have a nickname for me?" Elizabeth asked as the two sat on the blanket and watched the sun get lower in the sky.

"Because you're my Elizabeth. Don't you like the way I say your name?"

"I love the way you say it. I was just wondering why you don't have a nickname for me. You know . . . something special. A form of affection."

"I didn't think it was necessary", Jack said with raised eyebrows.

"It's not _necessary_ ", Elizabeth explained. "But . . . think of Heathcliff and how he called Catherine, Cathy, in 'Wuthering Heights'. He loved her so much he had a special name for her. In his whole life, he never called anyone else Cathy instead of 'Catherine'".

"Yeah, and look how well that turned out", Jack said sarcastically.

"Okay. Bad example", Elizabeth admitted with a frown when she thought more about the book.

"Didn't they both end up marrying people they didn't love, she died of a broken heart, and he was mean and miserable the rest of his life because he never got over her?" Jack asked.

"I said it was bad example!"

"Got any more examples?" Jack teased.

"How about Jo March's affection for Lawrence in 'Little Women'. 'Teddy' was her special nickname for him. She was the only one to call him Teddy." Elizabeth offered after thinking for a minute.

"I seem to recall that he ended up falling in love with, and marrying, her younger sister?"

"Oh, never mind!" Elizabeth said in exasperation, once again realizing it was a bad example. _Who knew Jack remembered these novels so well_?!

"You don't want me to fall in love with Julie, do you?" he said quizzically.

"I said never mind!"

"If my girl wants a nickname, I'll think of one", Jack responded good-naturedly.

"You can't _think_ about it. It's just something that's supposed to _happen_. It's just supposed to roll off the tongue." Elizabeth explained in disappointment.

"I like the way the name 'Elizabeth' rolls off my tongue", Jack said with a chuckle. "I've always enjoyed saying it. . . . Elizabeth, may I walk you home? . . . Elizabeth, will you have dinner with me? . . . Elizabeth, where do you get your crazy ideas?. . . . Elizabeth, do you forgive me? . . . Elizabeth, I want to kiss you. . . It's usually worked out well for me."

"Never mind", Elizabeth said in frustration again. _This isn't at all how the conversation was supposed to go. He was supposed to say that he had always wanted to call me 'darling', or 'my love', or 'my dearest'. That it was always on the tip of his tongue but he had been worried that I would think he was too forward. Then I would say it wasn't too forward but it certainly wasn't necessary for him to have a nickname for me. Then he would say that he couldn't stop thinking about me. About his love for me. . . . Then he would kiss me and whisper a sweet name in my ear. (I purposely put a dab of perfume behind my ear lobe!) At least that's how I imagined it would go_. _Stupid romance novels!_

"Just forget about it", she said with a sigh as she reached for the cookies she had brought and offered one to Jack.

"No, no. You've got me thinking. I'm going to give you a nickname", Jack said enthusiastically.

"How about Lizzie?" he offered as he took a bite of the cookie and was silently grateful that Abigail had baked it.

"NO. It sounds like a cow!"

"Liz?"

"Too short. Not endearing enough."

"Betsy?"

"That sounds like a woman who makes pies all day."

Jack laughed. "How in the world do you get that out of the name 'Betsy'?"

"I don't know. It just does", Elizabeth said with a shrug as she snuggled her head under Jack's chin and leaned her cheek against his chest.

"Betty?"

"Betty is a goat's name", Elizabeth said dismissively.

"Well, we certainly don't want that, do we? We've had our share of problems with goats."

"Beth?"

"No. My family calls me that sometimes."

Jack reached into the grass and plucked a thin flower. Its shiny petals were a bright yellow.

"How about Buttercup?" he said as he handed it to Elizabeth.

"No, people will think I'm jaundiced."

Jack let out a laugh. "You have quite the imaginative way of thinking."

* * *

Jack leaned his back against a tree. "Come here". He pulled Elizabeth close and wrapped his strong arms around her. As she leaned her soft body against his chest, he breathed in the scent of her freshly washed hair and thought how lucky he was to be holding her.

"Okay. I've got one. How about jellybean?", he offered after a minute.

Elizabeth let out a laugh. "Now that is a possibility."

"It fits you. It's sweet and yummy", he said as he leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips.

Jack moved his lips to her ear, "I love you", he whispered as he kissed her ear lobe, and then moved his lips along her neck.

"Jack, what are you doing? We're in public", she hissed.

"I'm conducting a lawful search. I'm going to have to ask you not to interfere", he said as he continued to kiss her neck.

Elizabeth giggled. "I demand to know what you're looking for."

"Aah, your mouth. There it is", he said as he claimed it.

Jack looked around briefly to make sure that no one else was around. When he realized they now had the field of grass to themselves, his hands touched Elizabeth's hips, lightly pressing on her as he moved them along her waist, moving upwards, sending shocks through her body.

As she kissed him back, Jack gently, slowly, pushed her down, until her back was on the blanket. He leaned over her, putting his weight on his forearms. His strong muscular legs became intertwined with her thin delicate ones as their kisses continued. She moved her hands along his back, enticing him.

"Elizabeth", Jack whispered seductively as he opened his coat and began placing soft kisses along the neckline of her blouse

"Yes?" she responded with a sigh as her hands roamed his shoulders.

"Do you like the way I say it?", he practically purred.

Elizabeth giggled. "Yes. I like the way you say it", she responded as she pulled him into a kiss. "But your hands should not be inside my coat".

"It's _my_ coat, jellybean", he reminded her with a smile as he placed more kisses on her.

She giggled again and rolled on top of him and pulled him into a kiss. Her kiss was full of passion. Long and moist and warm.

Exhaling heavily, Jack groaned, "We've got to stop".

"We're just kissing" Elizabeth said innocently.

"We're going to be doing a whole lot more than just kissing if we don't stop soon," Jack said, even as he wished they didn't have to stop.

"It's nice and warm snuggling here. Let's wait a little longer before we go back to town." Elizabeth lay against Jack's body, her fingers tracing patterns around the buttons of his shirt.

* * *

Jack ran his hand through Elizabeth's hair and held her for a moment before speaking again.

"Well, my jellybean, I've got one more possible name for you."

Elizabeth's eyes were closed, as she lay content and relaxed against his solid chest.

"I like jellybean. It's okay. You don't have to come up with any more."

"Would you like to hear the last possibility anyway?" he asked.

"Okay", she murmured lazily. "Is it better than jellybean?"

"I think it is. It's my favorite . . .

How about Mrs. Jack Thornton?"

* * *

"You know, you still haven't answered me", Jack noted as he and Elizabeth walked hand in hand back in town.

"Of course I did", she said with a laugh as she squeezed his hand.

"Actually you didn't. You kissed me and then you smiled, and then you kissed me again. And then, well. . . . then you kissed me some more for a really long time . . . . not that I'm complaining. . . but between your smiles and your kisses, . . .. . which are very good by the way. . . . . you actually never did answer me."

"Are you sure?", Elizabeth said curiously.

"I'm sure. Don't forget, I'm a Mountie. We're trained to pay attention to details."

"Well, what did you think all that kissing and smiling was about?" Elizabeth asked with a laugh.

"A guy likes to be sure of these things", Jack said with raised eyebrows and a grin.

Elizabeth stopped walking and turned to him. "Yes", she said tenderly as she looked at him and ran her hand gently through his hair.

"Yes. Yes. Every day for the rest of my life", she added before she softly kissed his lips.

When she pulled away slightly, Jack placed his hand on her cheek, possessively holding her. Taking his thumb, he touched her lower lip, rolling it slightly open. He stared at her lips, mesmerized by them, before he pulled her into a full deep kiss.

* * *

"What are you ladies looking at?", Abigail asked as she approached the Café table.

"See for yourself." Florence motioned towards the window and moved out of the way. "It appears that Constable Thornton may finally have gotten around to proposing. They've been in the street kissing for five minutes."

"Six", said Molly.

"Oh my", said Mary. "In the middle of the street. For the first time after he's proposed. You know what that means!"

Clara looked puzzled. "What's it mean?"

"It's an old wife's tale", Abigail said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she refilled the ladies coffee cups.

"And look", Abigail added as she glanced out the window again. "They've stopped anyway."

"But not before they kissed for six minutes!", Florence remarked scandalously.

"What's it mean?!", Clara asked again.

The ladies looked at each and then spoke in unison.

 ** _"When in the street, Their lips shall meet_**

 ** _Count the minutes, Count the spell_**

 ** _Sons and Daughters, Time will tell"_**

"It means they're going to have SIX children!"

 **Up next: chapter 19 (In the meantime, while your waiting for the next chapter, don't forget my vignettes under the name jellybean49. #8 "Changes" is getting dramatic!)**


	19. Chapter 19 - Outnumbered

**Chapter 19 – Outnumbered**

 _It was just like a romance novel. Almost. But not quite._

Elizabeth thought back to Jack's proposal. Holding each other on the blanket in the grassy field. Surrounded by yellow buttercups. After Jack had told Elizabeth that he wanted her to be Mrs. Jack Thornton, he had told her how much he loved her and that he couldn't imagine a life without her as his wife.

 _The look on his face was precious_. _Everything was so perfect_ , Elizabeth thought as she lay in bed thinking about Jack's proposal.

 _Almost everything_.

Jack had forgotten one important detail about proposing.

 _Not that I'm complaining_!, Elizabeth thought. _But still. What if when he realizes that he overlooked it, he doesn't think it's important? Obviously it's important!_

Elizabeth hadn't been brought up in high culture, but her mother had insisted on teaching her society's codes of conduct. Elizabeth assumed that Jack had grown up with the same basic understandings of what was expected of him.

 _I'll just mention it to Jack tomorrow. Maybe if we have dinner together_ , Elizabeth thought as she closed her eyes and fell asleep blissfully dreaming about being Mrs. Jack Thornton.

* * *

"I'll make us dinner tonight. How about six o'clock?" Elizabeth asked Jack when she saw him in the street after school the next day.

"What if you burn another meal?" Jack asked with a chuckle, taking her hand in his, and thinking of her last attempt at cooking.

"I think that's a chance we're just gonna have to take", she said with a laugh as they walked down the street.

"Promise me you'll be careful. I don't want to be a widower before I'm even married. Also, follow the directions. I'd prefer not to be poisoned either."

"We'll be fine", Elizabeth said as she slapped his arm. "But speaking of getting married, there is one detail about our proposal that you may not have thought of."

"Aahh, I was wondering if you were going to notice that", Jack said as he gently swung their arms back and forth as they held hands.

"Of course I'll still marry you. My answer is still yes", she assured him. "It's just . . . well, a girl likes things to be done properly sometimes. And it is important. I'm sure you didn't mean to overlook it."

"I know. It's just that I didn't want to wait any longer. The moment seemed perfect. I should have planned a little better but I've been busy with work. And we're out here in this small town so far from everything."

"I know you've been busy. We both have", Elizabeth said understandingly as she looked down at her bare ring finger, dreaming of wearing a wedding ring one day.

Jack noticed her looking at her finger. "I was thinking about my mom and Tom handling it a bit. You know, at least checking things out and letting me know details."

"Your mom and Tom?" Elizabeth's brows furrowed questioningly. "Checking things out?"

"It'd be easier for me with my schedule. Does it really matter that much to you? Can it wait a while?"

"Of course it matters." Elizabeth said in surprise. "I know you're busy but this is something _you_ have to do! You should have done it before you proposed. And I don't want to wait too long. It could be seen as disrespectful."

"Elizabeth, I don't see how waiting a little while longer can be disrespectful. And Tom and my mom can be helpful. They can let me know certain important details. You know . . . appraise things. That's all."

"Important details? Like what?" Elizabeth tried to hide her confusion but she was having a difficult time understanding Jack's attitude.

"Well, I suppose coloring is important."

"And size", he added when he noticed Elizabeth looking oddly at him.

"Coloring and size?" Elizabeth continued to give Jack a perplexing look.

"And clarity", Jack added as he stopped walking outside the Mountie office.

"Clarity?!",

"Elizabeth, I know you think this is probably all romantic, but to me it's also about money. Sorry, but that's the Thornton in me. I'm not going to make a bad transaction. A little advice from my family will be helpful. And they have the time."

"Transaction? Money shouldn't be any concern at all. Is that how you see this?", Elizabeth asked with a surprised look on her face.

"I have to think about money even if my family is wealthy. If I'm going to make a commitment to something, I want my money's worth. Something that's authentic and is going to hold its value."

Elizabeth took a step back and gave Jack a startled look.

"I've got to write up my daily report. We'll talk more later", Jack said as he gave Elizabeth a curious look before quickly kissing her cheek and then heading into the jailhouse.

* * *

"What's the matter, Elizabeth? You should be over the moon now that you and Jack are engaged." Abigail said when she saw Elizabeth at the kitchen table with a fretful look on her face.

"That's just it, Abigail. I'm not. I think maybe I rushed into this engagement", Elizabeth said worriedly.

"Why in the world would you say that?"

"You wouldn't think being in love would be that hard, would you? But it is. I'm starting to think that men and women just don't think the same way", Elizabeth said with a deep sigh.

"Elizabeth, talk to me. What's happened?"

"Well, you know how wonderful the proposal went?"

Abigail nodded.

"He was so sweet and gentlemanly. And just adorable. And at that moment all I could think about was how wonderful he is and how happy I am."

"But?" Abigail prodded her.

"But later I remembered that he's never met my mother. I know a man is supposed to ask the woman's father's permission before proposing marriage, and obviously that can't happen. And anyway, I don't need anyone's permission. But, Abigail, he hasn't even met my mother. And he should have met her. Or maybe at least written to her about his intentions."

"So he can go meet your mother now. I'm sure he wants to."

"That's just it. He doesn't! When I mentioned that he forgot something important before proposing, he didn't think it was important. He wants to send his mother and brother to check out my mom before he meets her!"

"Elizabeth, you must have misunderstood. Maybe he just meant that your mothers should meet each other. Which obviously they should. I don't think he meant that he wanted her _checked out_."

"Remember how they had the Pinkertons investigate me?", Elizabeth said with raised eyebrows and a frown.

"Elizabeth, that was different. You and Jack were still early in your relationship and his family was worried that you . . . well, that you might be interested in Jack for the family money."

"But that's all Jack seems to care about now! His money!", Elizabeth wailed.

"What did he say?"

""I don't understand men at all. . . . He said he wants to make sure I hold my value", she said in disbelief.

"Hold your value?"

"He wants to know what my mother looks like! "

Abigail gave Elizabeth a curious look. "What she _looks_ like?"

"He's worried about what our children will look like. He wants to know my mom's size and coloring. And he wants to make sure I age well. That he gets his money's worth, he said!", Elizabeth exclaimed.

Abigail laughed. "I'm sure that's not it. Although . . . ", Her voice trailed off.

"What?" Elizabeth asked looking up from her cup of tea.

"I have heard about the upper class", Abigail frowned. "They do tend to have some unusual and stuffy ideas about marriage and suitable partners. Some of those fancy upper society marriages seem to be more like business transactions than marriages of love."

What else did Jack say?" Abigail questioned.

"Just that he wants to make sure my mom has a clear mind." Elizabeth looked distraught.

"A clear mind? Does he suspect lunacy in your family?!" a startled Abigail asked.

"Maybe. He said clarity is important!" Elizabeth's voice was a mixture of hysteria and sadness.

"This isn't at all how I expected our engagement to be", she added glumly.

* * *

 _Okay, so maybe Jack and I need to work on our communication a bit_ , Elizabeth thought in embarrassment as she walked back to the Café. The feeling of Jack's lips was still on her mouth. She blushed as she remembered the taste of him and what he had whispered in her ear moments earlier.

"Well, you look much happier than you did earlier today", Abigail said when she saw Elizabeth enter the kitchen.

"Oh, Abigail, you were right. Not talking about things is the worst thing you can do. It's about getting to the truth."

"Did you find the truth?"

Elizabeth looked sheepish. "It seems that Jack and I were talking about two different things. He wants to meet my mom", Elizabeth said happily. " And he wants to buy me an engagement ring. "

"Well, it looks like everything is working out wonderfully for you two."

"Nothing is going to get in the way of this engagement. Absolutely nothing." Elizabeth smiled happily.

* * *

Directly after school the next afternoon, Elizabeth stopped by the mercantile to send a letter to her mother. She wondered if her mother could feel her happiness through the pages of the letter.

"Something important going on we need to be worried about?" Ned Yost asked as he took Elizabeth's envelope and placed a stamp on it before putting it in a pile of outgoing mail.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"The two Mounties that just rode into town a bit ago. Seems odd to have three Mounties meeting here. I thought maybe they were looking for someone dangerous. Another gang of outlaws or something?"

"I don't know anything about it. I'm sure it's nothing. They're probably just traveling through the area and stopped for a clean bed and a warm meal." Elizabeth said with a friendly look as she spied the Sears Roebuck catalogue on the store counter. _Ooh, I wonder if it has wedding dresses_.

* * *

"Hello", Elizabeth said with a big smile as she walked into the jailhouse. She closed the door behind her and looked at Jack, who had a tense look on his face. Jack was standing by his desk with two Mounties whom Elizabeth had never seen before.

"Why don't you go home. I'll stop by your place later", Jack said as he looked at her briefly and then returned his attention to several papers in his hand.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt", Elizabeth responded. She was slightly taken aback by Jack's attitude. She hadn't planned on staying long and had only intended to make sure that they were still having dinner again at 6:00.

"Just go please, ma'am", Jack said as he motioned with a nod towards the door.

 _Ma'am?_ Elizabeth frowned at Jack's odd demeanor. _He must be working on something important. B_ _ut why is he treating me like I'm practically a stranger?_ She turned and reached for the door knob when a man's voice stopped her.

"Wait a minute", one of the Mounties called out, causing her to turn back around and look at the Mounties.

"Is this the woman we've been talking about?" the man asked in surprise as he looked at Jack.

"Let me handle this", Jack said tersely to the Mountie.

"What's your name?" the red-haired Mountie inquired of Elizabeth. He ignored Jack and, instead, his eyes took in Elizabeth, head to foot, trying to assess what sort of woman was standing before him.

"I'm Elizabeth Thatcher. The school teacher here in Hope Valley", Elizabeth said with a big smile as she looked at the men.

"You're the woman we've been looking for you!" The older of the Mounties, a man with graying hair, looked from Elizabeth to a sheet of paper in his hand, and then back to Elizabeth.

"For me?", she questioned. Her voice indicated her total bewilderment.

Elizabeth looked at Jack. He certainly wasn't happy. It was obvious that he hadn't wanted to introduce her to his fellow Mounties.

"Elizabeth, please go back to your place. We're in the middle of something here", Jack said with a scowl on his face as he tried to hurry her out of the jailhouse.

"Stay right there, miss", the older Mountie instructed her in a stern voice.

"Go", Jack ordered her as he reached out his arm and put it in front of the other Mounties, indicating that the men were not to approach Elizabeth.

* * *

 _What was that all about_? Elizabeth thought as she walked down the street. _It was as if Jack didn't want those men to know who I was_! Elizabeth had no idea why Jack had wanted her away from the Mounties. It didn't matter. She had learned to trust his judgement. If he wanted her get away from the men, she would.

If some children hadn't stopped her to talk, Elizabeth would have been safely inside her home when the Mounties came looking for her three minutes later.

Instead she was in the middle of the street.

"Stay right there, Miss Thatcher!" The loud voice carried down the street.

Elizabeth turned and saw the three men in red serge as they hurried down the steps of the jailhouse building and headed in her direction. As they got closer to her, Elizabeth noticed Jack's grim expression.

Elizabeth looked around and realized the Mountie's loud order had caused quite a few people to stop in the street, the sidewalk, and the steps of the mercantile to look at the unfolding scene.

"Constable Thornton, are you going to do your job?", the Mountie, his sergeant rank visible on his uniform, asked harshly as the men now stood in front of Elizabeth.

"I told you. You've made a mistake", Jack said angrily.

"That's not for you to determine. As the law enforcement for this town, you have a job to do. Now do it!"

"I am not going to arrest my fiancée!", Jack exclaimed with a scowl.

"Either you arrest her or we will", the older man demanded as Elizabeth stood in the street with the eyes of the town watching her.

Elizabeth's eyes opened wide in astonishment at the man's words.

With a defeated look, Jack took out his handcuffs and gently reached out to Elizabeth, picking up one of her hands.

"I'm sorry", he said quietly to Elizabeth, leaning close to her ear, as he clicked the metal bracelet around her right wrist. As he moved to place the other cuff on her left wrist, he stood back somewhat and spoke more loudly.

"Elizabeth Thatcher, you're under arrest for larceny and attempted murder."

So far, Elizabeth's engagement wasn't anything like she had expected.

 **Up next: Chapter 20**


	20. Chapter 20 - the Prisoner

**Chapter 20 – The Prisoner**

"You arrested me! In front of the whole town."

"Elizabeth, I didn't have a choice!" Jack explained for the third time in exasperation.

"Of course, you had a choice! You simply should have refused."

"You heard Sergeant Johnson. If I didn't arrest you, they would have. And I was not about to let another man put handcuffs on you!"

Elizabeth crossed her arms and turned her back in frustration, facing the wall of her cell.

"Elizabeth, don't be mad at me."

"You should be happy I'm not making dinner tonight. I may just poison you yet!" Elizabeth said angrily.

"You don't mean that."

"I don't know what I mean right now", Elizabeth said bitterly.

"Just give me time to get this straightened out. It's obvious that they have the wrong woman. But someone has been committing crimes in Hamilton, Calgary, and Ottawa and either she's calling herself Elizabeth Thatcher or else someone mistook her for you and gave your name to the police."

"She doesn't look anything like me! Look at the sketch!"

"She actually does kind of look like you", Jack admitted. "About the same age, same coloring, same hair, same nose. She's listed as being about your height and weight."

"They can't honestly think I had something to do with this."

"Well obviously they do or they wouldn't be here to arrest you."

"Humph!"

"Come on out. I've got your bail paperwork ready", Jack said as he unlocked the cell in which Sergeant Johnson and Constable Wilson had earlier insisted that he place Elizabeth before the two men went to get something to eat.

"It's going to be okay." Jack tried to reassure her.

"I don't know if I believe that", Elizabeth said worriedly.

"Then let me convince you", Jack said as he placed his hand on her cheek. He held her face tenderly as he gently kissed her lips.

* * *

"What's going on?", Constable Wilson asked with disgust as he and Sergeant Johnson entered the jailhouse and observed Jack kissing Elizabeth .

"She's being released on bail", Jack said tersely to the Mounties as he moved over to his desk and picked up a pen which he then handed to Elizabeth.

"This is a promissory bond. It means you agree to appear in court", Jack explained patiently to Elizabeth as he motioned for her to sign her name on the bottom of the paper.

"It should be for at least $5,000", Sergeant Johnson remarked with raised eyebrows.

"It is", Jack responded coldly.

"But Jack, I don't have that kind of money to use as collateral" Elizabeth said with apprehension.

"It's okay. I do. " Jack spoke reassuringly to Elizabeth. "I already signed my name to it also. I put up the money and you promise to show up for trial."

"You're putting up that kind of money for her?" Constable Wilson said in distain.

"It's none of your business", Jack responded coldly.

"Sign here, Elizabeth", Jack said tenderly.

Elizabeth took the pen and nervously signed her name on the legal document. The words 'larceny' and 'attempted murder', typed in large black letters, seemed to jump off the page at her.

"We're leaving first thing in the morning. Be ready to go. And we'll be keeping an eye on you tonight." Sergeant Johnson instructed.

"What are you talking about?" Jack questioned angrily.

"If you're not keeping her incarcerated pending the investigation, we can take her back to Ottawa with us. We just got a telegram that additional charges are being brought against her for another larceny that was being investigated. We're taking her with us. As our prisoner tomorrow morning."

Jack grabbed the promissory note from Elizabeth's hands and ripped it in half.

"She's not making bail after all. She's going to have to stay here pending the investigation", he said matter-of-factly.

Jack took Elizabeth by the arm and escorted her back to her jail cell before she, or the other Mounties, could protest.

* * *

The news of the arrest of Hope Valley's pretty young teacher spread quickly through the town.

"I heard that Jack wouldn't post her bail."

"Do you think he'll end the engagement?"

"I heard she tried to murder someone!"

"And we let her around our children!"

"How are they ever going to have six children if she's in jail?"

Jack was glad that Elizabeth was locked up so she didn't have to hear the gossip or see the curious looks being sent his way.

* * *

Elizabeth was left alone in her cell while Jack went to the mercantile to send some telegrams and then to return the empty dinner dishes to the Café. Not feeling comfortable with the idea of sleeping in a nightdress in the public jail, Elizabeth decided to remain in her dress but she removed the tight constricting corset. Unfortunately, with the corset removed and no longer pulling in her body, the dress fit very snugly. _I'll just leave some of it unbuttoned. . . . Well, most of it_ _unbuttoned_.

If the jail cell had had a mirror, Elizabeth would have realized how provocative she looked.

"Jack's not here" she said coldly when the door opened and Sergeant Johnson entered.

"That's obvious. But I'm ready to call it a night. It's been a long day". The man replied as he began unpacking his bag.

He glanced at Elizabeth and couldn't help but be drawn to her figure. As she bent down to remove her shoes, the unbuttoned top of her dress fell slightly away from her body, exposing the pale white skin of her cleavage.

Elizabeth followed the man's gaze to her chest. She quickly grabbed the thin blanket from the cot and wrapped it around herself, suddenly self-conscious of how she looked.

"What are you doing?" she hurriedly asked as she watched Sergeant Johnson take off his uniform jacket and place it over a chair.

"Getting ready for bed."

"You can't sleep here! Go to the Saloon!"

"They only had one room left and I let Constable Wilson take it. I'm just fine sleeping here in the other cell."

"You can't sleep in the cell next to me. There's no privacy. I'm not comfortable with it and since I can't leave, thanks to you, you have to leave!"

"Better get used to a lack of privacy", the sergeant responded curtly as he lowered his suspenders.

"Jack!" Elizabeth cried out in distress when she saw him walk in the door. "He's going to sleep here!"

"Get your things. You're not sleeping in the same jailhouse as my fiancée", Jack said crossly.

"They're out of rooms at the Saloon and this is a perfectly good cot. I'm sleeping here."

"No. You are not." Jack's eyes were black with anger.

"I believe I outrank you."

"I don't give a damn. Now get your things and get out of my jail."

Sergeant Johnson scowled but gathered his simple belongings and crossed the room. "You're going to ruin your career over her", he said in disgust before walking out the door.

* * *

"Good night, Jack", Elizabeth called from her cot as she lay in the dark and watched as Jack dimmed the lantern in his bedroom in the back of jailhouse.

Jack rose from his bed and walked to the doorway of his room. Leaning against the doorframe, he spoke encouragingly.

"It's going to be alright. I spoke to Tim Smythe. He's going to leave for Ottawa in the morning and do some investigation. I'd go myself but I don't want to leave you with Wilson and Johnson. They're too eager to get you back to stand trial. Get a good night's sleep. Things will look better in the morning."

"I'm worried."

"It will be okay. I'm going to make sure of it."

"Can you unlock my cell door? I won't run away. I'm just feeling claustrophobic. What if there's a fire or something and I'm locked in here?"

"I won't let anything happen to you. But I'll unlock your cell."

Elizabeth lay in bed listening to Jack cross the room and turn the key in the lock. As he turned to walk back to his bedroom , she spoke again. "Thank you. For everything. I'm sorry I was mad at you."

"It's okay."

" I love you", she called out.

The cell door creaked slightly as Jack opened it and walked inside. Elizabeth propped herself up on one elbow and watched in the dim lantern light as Jack approached and squatted down by the side of her cot. He paused for a moment with their faces next to each other before his lips tenderly brushed softly against hers. When she leaned towards him, silently inviting him to continue, Jack pressed his mouth to hers. He moved his hands to her hair, keeping her close. The way he held her, like she belonged to him, like he would protect her, made Elizabeth feel safe and sensual at the same time. Her mouth parted without thought and she realized that despite everything, she wanted nothing more than to have Jack kissing her, holding her.

On any normal evening, Jack would have been thinking about how much he desired Elizabeth. But not tonight.

Instead, as he kissed her, his mind wandered. _How the hell am I going to get her out of this mess?_

 _I haven't even told her of the most serious of the charges._

 **Up next: Chapter 21 – The town visitors**.


	21. Chapter 21 - The Town Visitors

**Chapter 21 – The Town Visitors**

"Jack, I made the coffee already and Clara just dropped off breakfast", Elizabeth called out over her shoulder as she set the food on the desk. After a fretful night of sleep, she was determined to start the day off right. _I just have to have a positive attitude that everything will work out!_

"Smells great", Jack said as he finished buttoning his jacket and walked out of his bedroom.

"So this is what it's going to be like one day? Me getting dressed, you preparing the table, having breakfast together. I like it", he added with a smile.

Jack walked up behind Elizabeth and placed his hands on her waist, turning her around in his arms. He moved his hand to her jaw. Taking his thumb, he ran it smoothly along her lips, contemplating how good it would feel to kiss her. He smiled as he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss started slowly, tenderly, until. . . .

"Constable Thornton." The harsh male voice called out. "Mounties are to avoid any unnecessary contact with prisoners. I shouldn't need to remind you of that."

The condescending sound carried across the room as Sergeant Johnson, accompanied by Constable Wilson, walked in the building and observed Elizabeth's lips pressed to Jack's.

"You don't need to remind me. And that was entirely necessary contact", Jack said as he moved away from Elizabeth and poured himself a cup of coffee.

Elizabeth tried to ignore Wilson and Johnson as they picked up some mugs and helped themselves to coffee while surveying the scene.

"Breakfast with the prisoner? Outside of her cell?" Sergeant Johnson inquired with raised eyebrows as he looked at the plates, silverware, and cloth napkins laid out on the desk.

"We do things differently here in Hope Valley", Jack answered casually as he set down his coffee cup on the desk and pulled out Elizabeth's chair for her.

"I got that impression when I found out the town constable had proposed marriage to the town thief." Sergeant Johnson responded.

"She is not the town thief!"

"I'm not a thief _at all_ ", Elizabeth cried out.

Jack looked at her reassuringly. "No, you're not."

"We've been talking to the townspeople. Miss Thatcher is quite popular", Constable Wilson remarked as he picked up a piece of bacon from Elizabeth's plate and popped it into his mouth.

"Her students and their parents think very highly of her." Jack spoke up as he glared at the Mountie. "And keep your hands off her plate."

"We heard how one of her students gave her an expensive necklace he had withheld from an arsonist. I suppose Miss Thatcher's used to the criminal element. But her students' affection is not the kind of popularity I'm talking about."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" Jack asked sternly.

"Pretty young thing comes to town and before long lots of men are interested in her. From what we heard, she was entertaining plenty of them at a miners' dance, and then she had quite a few men bidding on her at some sort of . . .what was it?"

"Cake auction", Wilson chimed in.

"Yes, a cake auction", Johnson said with a smile.

"They weren't bidding on her, they were bidding on her cake", Jack said coldly.

"From what we've heard of her baking, they were most certainly _not_ bidding on her cake. And don't think we didn't hear about how you used your position as a Mountie to keep some of the men from bidding."

"Don't forget all the sewing she did", Wilson chimed in again.

"Aaah, yes. She made sure that she met every single man in town by offering her sewing services. Quite a lucrative business apparently. And a smart move on her part. Getting to know details about each miner."

"It wasn't like that", Jack said through gritted teeth.

"And she talked a lonely widower into giving her all of his deceased wife's very expensive evening gowns."

"It wasn't like that!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Not to mention that she managed to somehow get the town's new, and very wealthy I might add, Mountie to fall in love with her", Constable Wilson added.

 _My goodness, I sound downright dreadful_!, Elizabeth thought in shock. _Why in the world did Jack ever propose to me? Even I wouldn't propose to me!_

"Seems awfully similar to the incidents we've been hearing about going on in Hamilton, Ottawa, Calgary. An attractive young woman wooing men, conning them out of their money", Sergeant Johnson said with a nod towards Elizabeth.

* * *

"Jack, maybe I should just go to Ottawa and then the other cities and answer to a judge. We can talk to some of the victims and straighten things out. " Elizabeth said as she and Jack sat alone in the jail that evening.

"No. It's not a good idea. Some of the victims barely saw you. I mean _her_. She conned some of the men with elaborate deceptions. But other incidents were quick pick-pockets, stealing from desks, cash registers. Stuff like that. There's too much of a risk of you being identified as her by those victims that didn't get a good enough look."

"Are you sure?"

"If we go to the city, you'll be locked up pending trial. With potentially violent criminals. At least here I know you're safe. I doubt the judge there will give you bail considering the seriousness of the offenses and the number of cities you've been able to easily travel to and commit crimes."

"I mean _she's, she's_ been able to easily travel to", Jack said quickly when he saw the look on Elizabeth's face.

"Jack . . . you do believe me, right? You know I didn't do any of those things?"

"Of course! She just seems a lot like you in appearance. That's all. Hey . . don't look like that", Jack said when Elizabeth's face fell in sadness and worry.

"I love you. I know you didn't do those things."

"You had doubts about me before. With that stupid goat Sandy and wondering if you knew me as well as you thought."

"That was before. When I was an idiot and jealous. Now I'm smarter and not jealous, and you're my fiancée, jellybean", Jack said trying to coax a smile out of Elizabeth.

* * *

That night, Elizabeth fell asleep thinking about Sergeant Johnson's words from the previous night. Jack was going to ruin his career over her.

* * *

The second night in the jail cell had been no better than the first. Abigail had brought her a better pillow and blanket, but they had done little to relieve Elizabeth's worries about her future. She had woken up feeling anxious after having strange dreams about being imprisoned. As a poor girl in Bastille during the French revolution. A Mississippi belle disguised as a confederate soldier held in a American Union prison. A lieutenant in the Union army dying of dysentery in a confederate prison.

 _For goodness sakes!_ she thought in exasperation as she got up and moved about her cell. _I am not going to prison_.

She saw that Jack had left her a pitcher of water, a wash bowl, and a towel, and she realized that she desperately wanted a real bath. She poured the water into the bowl, and then splashed it on her face. _I am not going to prison!_

Hours later, Elizabeth's afternoon nap, which was brought on by boredom and a lack of sleep the prior night, was interrupted by the return of the men from their afternoon rounds.

Wilson and Johnson, determined not to leave Hope Valley without Elizabeth, had been occupying their time interviewing townspeople, lumberjacks, and settlers, and accompanying Jack on his rounds.

"She was in Hamilton at the same time as the robberies", Wilson remarked as they walked in and took off their hats

"Yes, but she was with me. I think I'm observant enough to have noticed if she was lifting money from someone's safe", Jack said dryly as he put his weapon away in his desk drawer.

"You weren't with her the entire time. Even you admitted that she was gone for several hours one day."

"She was at the train station seeing her sister off!"

"So she said. And what about Calgary?"

"I've never even been to Calgary! Except one week last year when I went to visit my cousins", Elizabeth called out as she sat up from the cot.

"And that just so happens to be when the larcenies occurred. We already checked on the dates", Sergeant Johnson responded snidely.

"Let's face it, Miss Thatcher. You've conned your last innocent victim out of money. You may have Constable Thornton fooled, but that's his fault. He's been warned. If he wants to continue your arrangement despite knowing your devious ways, he's got no one but himself to blame. Personally, I would have washed my hands of the likes of you long ago."

"Bite your tongue. I don't take kindly to you speaking poorly about Elizabeth". The unmistakable country drawl came from the doorway entrance.

The loud voice caused the men to turn around in surprise and look at the tall muscular man in a cowboy hat who had walked in.

"Blackthorn?" Jack asked, not believing his eyes.

"Clint?! What are you doing here?" Elizabeth said in shock as she stood up from her cot and hurried to the bars of her cell.

"I came to see for myself if rich boy really arrested you. Now I'm not saying I understand the ways of Mounties or city boys, but arresting your fiancée and throwing her in a cell don't seem right to me".

"How did you even know about this?", Elizabeth asked, still in shock at seeing her childhood friend standing in the jailhouse.

"Suzanne Gowen sent me a telegram. I was on my way to start the new rodeo circuit and thought I'd swing by here. I brought some money to try to bail you out."

"NO!", said Jack and Elizabeth in unison.

"You don't want to be bailed out?" he looked surprised.

"It's better if I stay here.", Elizabeth responded plainly.

"Mr. Blackthorn, I believe we heard your name mentioned when we were investigating and talking to people here in Hope Valley. You are . . .?" Constable Wilson asked.

"Her fiancé''"

" _EX_ fiancé, and barely even that", Jack said with a scowl.

"My, my. Two fiancé's, Miss Thatcher. Why am I not surprised." Sergeant Johnson said with a snicker.

"Mr. Blackthorn, you might just be the person we need to talk to about the prisoner's past. I assume you know her well."

"Like two calves sharing a stall. We even had a kid together", Clint replied with an easy grin.

"A goat. He meant a goat", Jack said with a frown and shake of his head. He was not finding humor in Clint's statement.

"I have to ask. Did she ever steal anything from you?" Constable Wilson took out his notepad and nodded at Clint to take a seat at the desk.

"Just my heart. And I got it back. A little bruised. But the better for it. . . You sure are looking pretty, Elizabeth. Even behind bars", Clint said as he gave Elizabeth an appraising look. When he whistled and gave her a smile, she couldn't help but smile back at him even as she rolled her eyes at his theatrics.

"Thank you, Clint. That's very sweet of you to say. You are obviously much more of a gentleman than these two brutes."

"If you men don't mind, I'd like a word alone with Elizabeth. Can you let me in her cell?"

* * *

Jack watched as Clint and Elizabeth sat close on the cot, their knees almost touching as they spoke in hushed voices, except for an occasional laugh from one of them.

For once, Jack couldn't be angry at Clint. The cowboy certainly wasn't intimidated by the other Mounties and his support of Elizabeth seemed to lift her spirits.

After ten minutes, Clint stood up from the cot and hugged Elizabeth.

"Mounties, I'll be happy to talk to you but I'd like to have a word with Jack first. Come on, Jack. Walk me to the livery. We can talk about horses and such", Clint said as he left Elizabeth's cell.

* * *

"Listen, Jack. I told you before that if you hurt her, and she wanted me to come back to mess you up, I would. She seems to think you're helping her. I guess keeping her locked up keeps those other Mounties from taking her away. Elizabeth loves you. Although I can't reckon I know why. But we won't argue about that now. Importantly, she trusts you, so I won't get in the way. But you need to be honest with me. Is she in real trouble? How bad is it?" Clint asked once they were outside.

As they continued walking to the livery, Jack filled Clint in on what was happening, including that one of the victims, a wealthy businessman in his sixties who had recently taken a large sum of money out of his bank account, had just died two days ago. He hadn't told Elizabeth yet, but she was going to be charged with murder.

"If you want, I can break her out of jail tonight and the two of us can disappear for a while", Clint offered.

Jack chuckled. He didn't doubt for a minute that the theatrical cowboy would actually do it. _Maybe I should take him up on it_ , he thought for a second before banishing the idea from his mind.

* * *

Elizabeth closed her book and tossed it on the cot next to her, where it landed on the pile of papers she had finished grading. After several days of jail, Elizabeth was growing restless.

"I need to get back to teaching. The mothers are depending on me."

Jack looked up from the paperwork on his desk. He had spent most of the day outside, covering his usual rounds while waiting to hear back about some telegrams he had sent. He could imagine that Elizabeth was tired of the four walls of the jail.

"I'm not so sure that the mothers want you around their children right now."

"For goodness sakes, I'm not accused of trying to kill a child. Just a rich old man. And his brother. Besides, give the mothers one more day with their kids and they'll be trying to kill them.

Jack chuckled. "You'll probably right. Let me see what I can do tomorrow." Returning his eyes to the papers on his desk, he picked up his pen and continued to scribble notes to himself.

"Jack?"

"Yeah?", he said looking up again.

"I'm in real trouble aren't I?"

Setting down his pen, Jack stood up and walked across the room and entered the cell through the opened door. "I'm not going to lie to you. There are a lot of victims and they're describing someone who looks like you. And between the three cities she's committed crimes in, it's hard to know what step to take next. I gave Tim a drawing of you and a photo, the one of you and your students. He's showing them to the theft victims.

Elizabeth was quiet for a moment as she looked up at Jack.

"I love you, Jack. If I didn't love you before, which I did, I would love you now. I'm not sure how I got lucky enough to get you."

"Well, you are a pretty good kisser", he responded with a smile as he held out his arms to her. "Come here".

Elizabeth stood up from the cot and walked into Jack's arms.

His warm strong hug was interrupted too soon.

"Ahem. Sorry to interrupt, Constable."

Elizabeth and Jack jumped apart at the sound of Ned Yost's voice. He looked uncomfortable as he walked across the room and handed Jack some envelopes. "Three telegrams came in for you. I thought you'd want them right away."

"Thank you, Ned."

 _He acts like I'm going to pounce on him, rummage through his pockets looking for money, and then leave him to die on the floor_! Elizabeth thought in disgust as she saw the apprehensive look Ned gave her before scurrying out the door.

Jack pulled the slip of paper out of the top envelope in his hand.

"It's from Tim. So far two people have identified you as the culprit, another person said he couldn't be sure, and one victim said the real culprit was . . . prettier."

"For Pete's sake. Are they all blind?!" Elizabeth asked in disgust.

"What's in the next one?" she asked nodding to the remaining envelopes in Jack's hand as he pulled out another slip of paper.

"It's from some Mounties in Calgary I wired. Friends of mine. They'll keep their eyes open and see what they can find out, but the police are investigating not the Mounties."

Elizabeth gave a deep sigh and watched as Jack read the final telegram.

"Oh no. This can't be happening," he said in disbelief as he slumped down onto the edge of the cot.

"What is it? What's wrong?", Elizabeth asked anxiously.

Jack looked at the telegram again and let out a deep sigh before looking at Elizabeth. "Not good."

Finally, he gave her a weak smile. "My folks will be here tomorrow. They want to congratulate us in person on our engagement and my mom wants to see about building a school here."

"But I'm in jail!", Elizabeth wailed in horror.

* * *

 _I can handle this,_ Elizabeth decided as she lay on the cot thinking about meeting her future in-laws the next day.

 _We got along better the last time I was in Hamilton for the Regal Ball._ _I just have to keep them from talking to anyone in town. They can't hear about the cake auction . . . or the sewing . . . or my private dance lessons with Tim Smyth._

 _Or about how Jack's company gave me the scholarship – they'll think I only like him for his money._

 _I need to keep them away from Clint._

 _I definitely have to keep them away from Johnson and Wilson._

 _And somehow I have to keep them from noticing that I'm behind bars!_

This was most definitely not how she imagined her engagement.

 **Up next: Chapter 22**


	22. Chapter 22- Tea and Coffee

**Chapter 22 Tea and Coffee**

Jack knew his place. He was a constable, and Sergeant Johnson outranked him. As much as Jack detested the condescending attitude of the sergeant, Jack knew enough to respect the rank the man wore, even if he didn't respect the man. For that reason, Jack had initially tried to ignore the man's rudeness as Jack once again explained that Elizabeth was a kind and good woman. But Jack's patience had grown thin.

"You really don't expect me to believe that she's that innocent and pure. I have a pretty good idea of what's been going on here at the jail. Why you didn't want me sleeping here. So you and our pretty little prisoner could privately handle things. . . right into your bed", Sergeant Johnson said crudely.

 _The heck with my career_ , Jack thought as his fist landed squarely on the other man's jaw.

* * *

"Just a couple minutes", Constable Wilson instructed Elizabeth. He held out his hand to stop her as she approached the door of the jailhouse, returning from a bath at Abigail's and escorted by one of the Pinkertons.

"What's going on? Why can't I go in?"

"Sergeant Johnson and Constable Thornton are having a meeting."

"What kind of meeting?" Elizabeth asked in alarm when she heard what sounded like furniture getting knocked over, followed by breaking glass.

Constable Wilson held her back from entering. "Why don't you go to the Saloon and get some more of your school books? It may be a couple minutes. They're just ironing out a few issues they have with each other."

When Elizabeth started to protest, the burly Pinkerton took hold of her arm and forcibly escorted her down the street and to the Saloon.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the Pinkerton, fed up with Elizabeth's nonstop complaints and objections, gave up and escorted her back to the jail.

Elizabeth tentatively turned the doorknob to the now quiet jailhouse, worried about what scene she would come upon when she stepped inside.

"How was your bath, Elizabeth?" Jack asked pleasantly as he looked up from the papers on his desk when she walked in.

"Wilson and Johnson are going to be leaving for a day. Checking out some possible leads", he added casually as he motioned towards the other two men without waiting for her to answer.

Constable Wilson briefly stopped cleaning his weapon to nod hello to Elizabeth. She stood stunned for a moment before she remembered to politely nod back.

Sergeant Johnson, holding a once white but now red-covered handkerchief in his hand, also gave her curt nod. His swollen nose had traces of blood around it, and one of his eyes would definitely be black and blue by morning. Elizabeth noticed that he was moving one arm gingerly.

Elizabeth spotted a broken chair, now with only three legs, leaning against the wall. On another wall, a picture frame was hanging at a tilted angle as if it had been pushed into and then forgotten.

As she took a step, Elizabeth's boot made a crunching sound and she stopped in mid-step, lifting up her foot curiously.

"Piece of glass", Sergeant Johnson mumbled. He walked over to Elizabeth's boot and bent down, wincing slightly as one arm went protectively to his ribs. He picked up the glass shards, dropping them into the wastebasket where they made a clinking sound as they landed on the other pieces of the shattered lantern.

Elizabeth turned her attention to Jack. She frowned when she saw his split lip and then the slight swelling and redness of his cheek. She crossed the room, her eyes now moving back and forth between the three men, who were unnaturally quiet. She felt a change in the room and realized that for some reason the balance of power over the past few days had shifted. In Jack's favor.

When she was less than a foot from Jack, Elizabeth glanced down at his right hand. He followed her gaze and quickly covered his hand with the left one but not before Elizabeth saw the raw scraped skin of the knuckles. Jack needn't have bothered to cover the hand; his other one was just as damaged.

"Oh Jack, you did that for me? "She gasped weakly, her voice barely above a whisper.

* * *

Elizabeth nervously refilled the teacups of Mr. and Mrs. Thornton using the finest china teapot Abigail had available. _Where is Jack when I need him?! He's been gone more than an hour._

If Mrs. Thornton found it odd to be sitting on a simple wooden chair drinking tea in a jail cell, she bit her tongue. She was in a small backward town, but she was still a lady. Her upbringing had taught her to always be cordial when a guest in someone else's home. Even if it was a temporary place of incarceration.

Mr. Thornton glanced out the window for any sign of Jack before sitting back in the wobbly chair in Elizabeth's cell. He frowned as he looked down at the wooden chair leg which had been recently nailed back on.

"I don't see him anywhere. Does this happen often? We'd only been in town 30 minutes and he's called away to handle something."

"He's the town constable. He's very important here. People look to him for help", Elizabeth said proudly as she held out a plate of oatmeal cookies.

"Why did Jack have to be the one to arrest you?" Mrs. Thornton asked as she looked around awkwardly for a place to set down her teacup before reaching for a cookie.

Hours earlier, Jack had patiently explained to Elizabeth that no matter how hard she wished, it was impossible to keep her arrest a secret from his parents. Her suggestion that perhaps they could bribe the entire town to keep quiet was met with a chuckle by Jack.

By the time Jack had escorted his parents into the jailhouse to greet Elizabeth, the stagecoach had been gone for 25 minutes and they were fully aware of their future daughter-in-law's unusual predicament.

Elizabeth now scurried out of her cell just long enough to grab the metal wastebasket. Holding the china plate of cookies with one hand, she used her other hand to turn over the empty wastebasket and place it next to Mrs. Thornton, motioning for the woman to use it as a side table. _Thank goodness Jack emptied it when we were cleaning up for his parents._

"Jack didn't want the other Mounties to handcuff me. He thought they might be too rough and improper", Elizabeth said, remembering to answer Mrs. Thornton's question.

"Well, that's very admirable of him. He's always been a gentleman", Mrs. Thornton responded with the unmistakable air of a proud mother.

Mr. Thornton set down his teacup on the overturned wastebasket, stood up anxiously, and began pacing the floor again.

"Thank you for your earlier offer", Elizabeth spoke out. "I appreciate it, but I think it would be best if you didn't speak to the Commissioner."

"Why not, for heaven sakes, girl?" Mr. Thornton said in a stunned voice.

"Jack wants a career in law enforcement. I – I just don't know how it would look to his coworkers and superiors", she said hesitantly. "With all your money and your name, it might look as if his family was trying to influence people . . . . and . . . I just don't want the Northwest Mounties taking it the wrong way. Thinking Jack is trying to do things above the law. It might hurt his career."

"Elizabeth dear, I think it might hurt his career if he marries a convicted murderess and thief ", Mrs. Thornton said in a matter-of-fact voice as she picked up her teacup and then took a simple sip of the warm liquid. "And from the sound of things, that's where this is heading."

* * *

 _My goodness, time moves slowly_ , Elizabeth thought as she glanced at the clock on the wall anxiously waiting for Jack to return. They were out of hot tea and she couldn't exactly leave the jail to go get more. Nobody felt like eating any more cookies. And deciding on a topic of conversation was delicate. It wasn't as if they could discuss wedding dresses when Elizabeth may very well be wearing a striped prison uniform soon.

"Thankfully we hadn't put your engagement announcement in the society section of the newspaper yet. At least we'll avoid a scandal", Mr. Thornton said with a frown and shake of his head as he thought of the situation. "We'll have to tell the Beachems not to mention it at the club until this matter is settled", he muttered to himself.

"I'm sorry", Elizabeth said meekly.

"Tssk. This is nothing compared to the possible scandal when I was arrested. After all, we were already married and I had a position in society", Mrs. Thornton said dismissively.

"You were arrested?!" Elizabeth asked in surprise, and then quickly scowled as the cold remnants of her tea spilled onto her dress.

"We were in London. I had been to a party and met Emmeline Pankhurst. One thing led to another and the next thing you know, I was marching with the WSPU."

"The WSPU?"

When Elizabeth looked at her confused, Mrs. Thornton continued.

"The Women's Social and Political Union. I thought 'we sister suffragettes have to stick together'. It turned out to all be a bit too wild for me. The yelling, the window smashing, the physical assaults . . . and that was by the women!"

"Oh my!"

"Jack's father was furious. He was quite upset with me for getting arrested, but he was more upset with the men who arrested me. He called them quite a few choice names. And, well, I simply couldn't go through with the hunger strikes. I wasn't brave enough for that. And Jack's father refused to allow me to participate. So he bailed me out of prison."

"Jack never mentioned it."

"He was in boarding school at the time. We didn't tell him terribly much about it. And we kept it out of the paper. Of course, it happened in England so it was easier to keep it quiet back home."

"So you understand how I feel about being arrested!" Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief.

"Not quite, Elizabeth. I was arrested for a good cause. I'm not so sure about your arrest, dear." Mrs. Thornton's words were pleasant but Elizabeth didn't miss the faint condescending tone.

She sighed as she looked at Elizabeth with raised eyebrows.

"Larceny and murder are a bit more serious criminal behavior than trying to get the right to vote. I was trying to change a discriminatory political process. You were apparently trying to steal and kill someone."

* * *

 _Okay, that didn't go as well as I would have liked._ Elizabeth thought as she waited for Jack to return from taking his parents to Abigail's, where Abigail had graciously prepared a room for them.

Elizabeth hadn't thought it could get much worse after Mrs. Thornton had asked if she intended to break off the engagement, but then Mr. Thornton had muttered sarcastically that perhaps the wedding reception could be held at Hamilton's prison courtyard area on visiting day.

When he also mentioned that they would probably have a small turn out because the guests wouldn't want to subject themselves to body searches before entering the prison, Elizabeth wanted to cry.

* * *

The sound of the night rain hitting the roof reminded Elizabeth that nature was still going on outside, even if she had been virtually stuck inside for days. Other than her single trip to Abigail's to bathe and her visits to the outhouse, Elizabeth had barely felt the sun's warmth, a breeze, or even the night's chill.

Elizabeth carried the single empty dinner plate to the desk and set it down. Jack had eaten dinner earlier with his parents at the Café. She could only imagine how that conversation had gone. She hadn't asked and he hadn't volunteered any information.

"It's nasty outside", Jack remarked as strong gusts of wind blew the rain against the thin glass window pane making tapping sounds. "You ready to turn in?"

"Yeah. Do you really think we can have school here tomorrow?", Elizabeth asked hopefully as she untied the long laces of her shoes.

"The mothers said if –-"

The loud knocking on the door interrupted Jack's answer. Both he and Elizabeth looked up in surprise at the sound.

Jack finished putting a final piece of wood in the stove and approached the front door, wondering who would be in need of the town constable on a wet dark night like tonight. He wasn't looking forward to going out in this weather.

"Can I help you?" he asked when he saw the figure in a dark coat standing on his porch. Rainwater dripped off a cowboy hat obscuring the visitor's face.

"Are you Constable Jack Thornton?"

The rudeness and anger in the question wasn't missed by Jack.

"I am."

"I could use a hot cup of coffee", the visitor said sternly. " And then maybe you can tell me why you proposed to my daughter before telling me your intentions and then arrested her for murder."

"Mom!" Elizabeth shrieked as she jumped off her cot and ran to the bars of her cell.

"In the flesh", the woman responded as she took off her cowboy hat and shook out her long hair.

Jack stared wide eyed as the woman gave him a stern look before moving past him, dripping water onto his wood floor.

* * *

"It was a little awkward but I handled it", Jack quietly explained to Elizabeth the next morning when she asked how breakfast with the parents had gone. "It could have been worse", he added with a shrug, looking across the jailhouse at Mrs. Thatcher and remembering how he had been subjected to her diatribe last night. He had spent quite a lot of time apologizing to her for not meeting her before proposing. For arresting her daughter. For being rich. For the rainy weather.

Mrs. Thatcher, who had awakened at her usual early hour after sleeping in the extra jail cell, hadn't been able to understand why the Thorntons would prefer to sleep until 8:00. By the time Jack had escorted her to the Café to meet his parents, she was complaining about being famished and that the best part of the morning had been wasted.

Now, a few hours later, Sergeant Johnson and Constable Wilson arrived back in town after their night away to find the jailhouse abuzz with conversation.

It didn't take Jack long to figure out where Elizabeth had inherited her sense of anger about injustices. Mrs. Thatcher quickly set upon the Mounties, harshly interrogating them about their investigations. Jack almost felt sorry for the men, but he preferred that they be the subject of her attention rather than himself. Besides, he hadn't been too happy with the way they had treated Elizabeth either.

By the time Mrs. Thatcher had finished with her questions, Elizabeth wasn't sure if Sergeant Johnson was afraid of her mother or possibly infatuated with her. _For goodness sakes, he can't take his eyes off her!_

The odd assortment of the seven individuals, Mr. and Mrs. Thornton, Mrs. Thatcher, Jack, Elizabeth, Constable Wilson, and Sergeant Johnson, now pulled up chairs or sat on Elizabeth's cot in her cell, quietly thinking about her case. They had discussed every aspect of the investigation. Each one now sat silently. Various thoughts going through their heads.

 _End the engagement and get out of this town as quickly as possible_.

 _Hire her a lawyer and be done with the girl_.

 _Pray._

 _He should ask for a leave of absence or transfer._

 _She sure is pretty._

 _Should I end the engagement? At least he didn't waste money getting me a ring yet. Oh, I can't end the engagement! I love him so much_.

 _I love her so much. This must be horrible for her._

* * *

It was Elizabeth's mother who finally broke the silence.

Mrs. Thatcher stared at Sergeant Johnson contemplating the man. His hairline was receding slightly and his hair was peppered with gray, but he was an impressive looking man, even with bruises and swelling hiding one of his piercing blue eyes. Given the right clothing, and ignoring his rude attitude, he could pass for a well-respected gentleman. Noticing the appraising look in her mother's eyes Elizabeth worriedly began to wonder if her mother was attracted to the condescending Mountie.

"Sergeant Johnson, you are the oldest looking Mountie here, so you'll have to do", Mrs. Thatcher said bluntly as she set down her cup of coffee.

"Do? ma'am?"

"How do you feel about kissing Elizabeth?" Mrs. Thatcher asked simply, looking the sergeant straight in the eye.

Her question caused both Sergeant Johnson and Jack to choke on their drinks.

Mr. Thornton shook his head in disbelief and wondered if he had heard correctly, while Mrs. Thornton sat up straighter in surprise, suddenly fascinated by the conversation.

"From the way these two look at each other, I'm sure my daughter has had plenty of practice", Mrs. Thatcher said with raised eyebrows as she motioned towards Jack and Elizabeth. "And you can't say that you haven't noticed her enticing figure."

"My son says she's a very good kisser. The best he's ever had", Mrs. Thornton chimed in. She had no idea where this conversation was going, but she was finding her trip to Hope Valley to be much more interesting than she had anticipated.

"She does have an enticing figure", Mr. Thornton added for good measure as he gave his wife a baffled look.

Jack wiped spilled drops of his coffee from his shirt. His eyes wide in puzzlement. His mouth open. Sputtering. Trying to think of what to say. _She is not a prize to be offered up!_

"Mrs. Thatcher", Jack finally began, first giving his parents a stern look and then staring at Elizabeth's mother in bewilderment. "I don't think Elizabeth's kissing and enticing figure have any bearing on this investigation!" His voice showed his displeasure and confusion. He had no idea why Elizabeth's mother would even ask such a question.

"They have everything to do with it." Mrs. Thatcher responded firmly. "Your father is going to pay for the best hotel room in Calgary for Sergeant Johnson and Elizabeth to spend the night together. That should help settle this matter."

Jack nearly fell off his chair.

He didn't think he could have been more surprised until Elizabeth, who had been sitting quietly, pensively watching the scene unfold, spoke up.

"You know, mom, I think you're right. That just might save me".

 **Up next: Chapter 23**


	23. Chapter 23 - The Plan

Chapter 23 – The Plan

"No! No! No!" Jack said angrily. "You are not doing this!"

Jack paced back and forth in front of Elizabeth in the otherwise empty jailhouse. He had ordered everyone else out of the building after they had all agreed with Mrs. Thatcher's ludicrous idea. Much to Jack's dismay, even Constable Wilson and Sergeant Johnson had eagerly supported Mrs. Thatcher's plan after hearing the details.

"It makes sense. My mom's right. If this woman has been mistaken for me, there's no reason why I can't be mistaken for her!" Elizabeth responded, throwing up her hands in exasperation at Jack's stubbornness.

"It's too dangerous. This is a professional criminal you want to be mistaken for", Jack protested.

"I will be totally safe. Sergeant Johnson will be there."

"That doesn't make me feel any better" Jack said dryly.

"It's a simple, safe plan. I just pretend to be a conniving woman. Enticing an older rich man."

"Sergeant Johnson is not a rich man", Jack reminded her sternly.

"Nobody has to know that. He'll look the part. Even your mother admitted that in the right clothes, he can pass as upper society. And hopefully, when I'm seen flirting with him out in public, someone will think I'm my look-a-like and approach me. Maybe call out her name. Give me a message meant for her. Something. And then we'll know her name! And she can be the one behind bars instead of me!"

"I don't want you being mistaken for her! I don't want you enticing Sergeant Johnson! I don't want you sharing dinner and drinks and dancing with him!"

"Are you jealous or worried about my safety?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"Both!" Jack's voice was filled with frustration. "This is insane."

"Jack, you'll be there. Constable Wilson will be there. The police will be there. And I won't let him touch me. Not that way. Not for real. You know I only have eyes for you."

"Your look-a-like is a murderer. She probably has accomplices. There has to be a better way. Something that doesn't put you in danger."

"Jack -"

"I am not going to risk your safety." He told her firmly. "I can do more investigation. I'll go to Ottowa. Hamilton. Calgary. I'll hire more Pinkertons to help."

"This is the quickest, easiest plan. We both know that", she responded stubbornly.

Jack ran his hand through his hair in exasperation as he thought of their options. Which seemed more like a lack of viable options.

* * *

Sitting on the edge of her cot, Elizabeth watched Jack's handsome and normally-relaxed face reflect his tension. His hair was messed up from running his fingers through it in frustration. Even his footsteps seemed to lack his usual positive attitude. She knew that if it were anybody but her, he would probably be willing to go through with the plan. She now kept quiet, letting him think. Waiting for him to come to the realization that she was going through with this plan.

"I'll talk to the Commissioner of the Mounties. As a Thornton. Not as a constable. I'll have my father talk to him. He'll make the charges disappear", Jack finally said with determination. "This whole thing will be over by tomorrow or the next day at the latest. I'll go send a telegram now and make travel arrangements."

"No! I won't let you do that. I won't let you ruin your career."

"Elizabeth, I know what the risks are with my superiors. And I'm willing to take them. For you."

"Jack... I can't... I can't let you do that."

"No. See, this is what I want. If I have to, I'll quit the Mounties and go work for my father. I will. If that's what it takes."

Elizabeth was so touched by his offer that she felt some of the tension of the past few days melt away at his words. But as touched as she was, she knew she couldn't allow him to do it. She looked at his scraped knuckles and was reminded of how much he already done for her. Not just this week either. Memories of him defending her to his family in Hamilton came back to her; how he had stood up for her at the dinner party, and later again facing his family with confidence. He had been willing to risk his family for her. And now he was willing to risk his career.

"I can't be the one who keeps you from following your dreams of being a Mountie. I can't. You'd only end up resenting me", Elizabeth explained.

"Elizabeth, that is not true." Jack moved closer, kneeling in front of Elizabeth.

"You may not think so now. But you will. You will", Elizabeth said tenderly as she placed her hands on Jack's face, holding his attention. "I love you. I have to do this. And you have to let me."

Jack sighed and let his shoulders sag in defeat before speaking quietly.

"I'll be right there the whole time", he assured her.

* * *

Two days later, after making necessary arrangements with the police in Calgary and letting Sergeant Johnson's black eye recover, the small band of travelers found themselves on a train.

A small select group of police and Mounties knew that Miss Elizabeth Thatcher was coming to the city to help with an investigation. Elizabeth Thatcher. Newly engaged fiancée of the heir to the Thornton fortune. Simple school teacher. Murder suspect. Possible victim of mis-identification. She was coming to Calgary to try to clear her name.

The plan was surprisingly uncomplicated. Sergeant Johnson, whom Elizabeth was now calling Mark, would pretend to be a wealthy businessman visiting Calgary. A perfect victim for a pretty woman with devious intentions. Elizabeth would make sure that she was seen, but not too closely, at various locations where someone might recognize her, or rather mistake her, as the other woman.

"A couple fancy restaurants. The race track. Places you would hope to meet a wealthy man and also places he would take you to impress you with his money", Jack said as he went over the plan for the third time with Elizabeth. "And don't forget I'll be right there so don't worry about your safety."

"Jack, I'm not worried about my safety. And you can't be right there the whole time. That would defeat the purpose of this charade if you were always with me. People are supposed to mistake me for her", she reminded him.

"You are not kissing him", Jack said sternly. "If he tries anything, I swear, I'll punch him even harder than I did the last time."

"Yes, Jack. I know. You've told me. Several times. " Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from smiling. "Besides, the man can't stand me so I don't think you have anything to worry about. And don't forget, if he tries anything, I can also handle it myself."

"Just be careful", he said with worry evident in his voice.

Jack leaned back his head against the leather train seat in their private compartment, and gently pulled Elizabeth against his chest. Touching his lips to the top of her head, he picked up one of her hands and stroked his fingers along it until their hands were intertwined.

"I love you", he whispered.

 **Up next: Chapter 24 - Calgary**


	24. Chapter 24 - Calgary

**Chapter 24- Calgary**

"I can't buy those things!", Elizabeth whispered hotly at Sergeant Mark Johnson, who was now wearing an expensive suit, as they stood in front of the ladies department of Calgary's finest department store six hours later. They had gone directly from the train station to Center Street, the city's busy shopping street, and had immediately started to get Elizabeth "seen".

"You are supposed to be trying to woo me. Seduce me. Find out where I keep my money. You can't do that in your boring undergarments", Sergeant Johnson said rudely.

Elizabeth gasped. "How dare you discuss my unmentionables."

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I obviously have no idea about your . . .your unmentionables. But you need to pretend that you are a woman who wants to seduce a rich man. Your doppelganger apparently dresses quite . . desirably. She may have frequented this place. Now go in there and buy something! Get noticed!" he ordered.

"I can't", Elizabeth said meekly. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at the idea.

"For Pete's sake. I'm not actually going to see you in the items. You just have to pretend I am. Now go. We don't have all day. We have other places for you to be seen."

* * *

By the time she had visited the fourteenth establishment of the weekend, Elizabeth had lost her nervousness. The embarrassed rosy blush to her cheeks had been replaced with the flushed pink of fatigue brought on by the hectic pace set by law enforcement.

Jewelry. Negligees. Sweets. Shoes. The Beauty Salon. Dresses. The Millinery shop. The Art Museum. The Race track. She had shopped and smiled and made sure she was noticed until she thought she would faint from exhaustion if she had to browse one more store.

Sometimes by herself and sometimes with Sergeant Johnson, she had made the rounds. She had made sure that shop keepers, waiters, and taxi drivers had all seen her, although never for too long or too closely.

After two days, Elizabeth was physically and mentally drained. _Teaching a classroom of unruly children is nothing compared to shopping and trying to seduce a man!_

Unfortunately, no one had approached her thinking she was the other woman.

* * *

Elizabeth was leaning against a tree, her hand on Sergeant Johnson's chest as she acted the role of conniving seductress, playfully flirting with him in the city's main park. She glanced around, trying to see if anyone was watching them but all she saw were some young children running after geese and a man in a hat walking his dog.

"Don't flinch. I'm going to give you a small kiss on the lips", Sergeant Johnson informed Elizabeth as he leaned in closer to her.

"You might actually enjoy it", he added with a self-satisfied smile.

"Only if I pretend that you're Jack. Try to act handsome, intelligent, and desirable," Elizabeth responded coolly as she steeled herself for the touch of his lips.

"And only a peck" she added firmly while maintaining a fake smile. _He better make it quick! Very quick._

"Oh, excuse me, Sir", a man, his face obscured by a low hat, said in a heavy accent as he seemed to accidentally bump into Sergeant Johnson, effectively ending any kiss before it began. Without waiting for a reply, the man moved past the couple and continued on his way with his large dog walking obediently on a leash.

Elizabeth said a silent thank you for the stranger's clumsiness as she watched him walk away.

 _Wait a minute. I know those shoulders. That back. The way that man walks._

 _Jack, you devil. Where did you learn to fake that accent? s_ he thought with a laugh.

 _Where in the world did he get a dog?!_

* * *

That evening, Jack wandered around the store, keeping behind the large racks of merchandise as he moved closer to Sergeant Johnson and another undercover officer. He had spent two days watching the other Mountie spend time with Elizabeth. Quality time that he wanted to be spending with her. When he was three feet away, Jack was finally close enough to hear the men's conversation.

" -Thatcher? Nothing like I expected. Very pretty and she's got some spunk to her."

"You interested in her?"

"I might be. I'd like to spend some time getting to know her after this investigation is over."

Jack gritted his teeth in irritation. He was about to confront Sergeant Johnson and remind him to keep in line when Elizabeth came into view.

"Darling, what do you think of this scarf?"

It took Jack a second to remember the situation and realize that Elizabeth wasn't talking to him.

She hadn't even noticed him.

Instead, her beautiful eyes were staring adoringly at Sergeant Johnson who was returning her large smile with his own.

* * *

Tonight's dinner in the hotel restaurant had been delicious and Sergeant Johnson was surprisingly a good conversationalist.

Elizabeth's worries about the pending theft and murder charges against her had lessened considerably once the police and Mounties had agreed to the plan. She still had another troubling concern in addition to possibly confronting a murderer who looked like her.

Jack.

Somewhere in the large dining room Jack was watching. And most likely seething as he watched the undercover Mountie reach across the table and place his hand on hers.

Two days ago, Sergeant Johnson had been cold and professional. Yesterday, he had been mostly polite and professional. Now he could actually be very nice . . . . at times.

As the weekend had progressed, Elizabeth had a feeling that he actually liked helping her, or at least found her tolerable. She noticed two other things. He was always nicer to her when she talked about her mother. _He's probably afraid of her_ , she thought with a smile.

The man was also thoroughly enjoying antagonizing Jack. In fact, Elizabeth couldn't decide which would make Sergeant Johnson happier; catching the real murderer or seeing Jack squirm. It was obvious that the sergeant hadn't gotten over Jack besting him during their fistfight at the jailhouse.

"Smile and then reach across and fix my tie", Sergeant Johnson ordered as he looked at her from across the table and picked up his glass of wine in one hand.

"What's wrong with your tie?"

"Nothing", he answered with a slight irritation while he maintained a smile. "But you're supposed to be flirting with me. So forget about your lover boy watching and start flirting."

* * *

 _I don't like her hair,_ Jack thought with a frown as he watched the couple from across the room. _It's pretty, I guess . . .but_ w _hy did she let them tame her curls at the hair salon? I love her curls. Now it's all smooth and shiny. She looks too sophisticated._

 _And why is her dress so low cut?_

 _Does she have to smile so much at him?_

 _She doesn't even like wine and that's her second glass._

 _Why is she fixing his tie?_

* * *

"My feet are exhausted", Elizabeth said an hour later as she took Sergeant Johnson's arm and they exited the elevator to their hotel floor. "You're a very good dancer. In fact, you're nothing like I thought when we were in Hope Valley."

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment. I guess I was a little hard on you in Hope Valley", he admitted. "You're nothing like I expected either."

"So you admit that I am not a thief and murderer."

"I'll admit that after we catch the real culprit. Presuming there is a real culprit and this is not part of your elaborate scheme. Although, the more I'm around you, the more I believe you. Now let's get into my room."

Sergeant Johnson opened the room door with one hand and then placed his other hand on Elizabeth's low back, making sure that anyone who happened to be in the hallway would see him suggestively touch her as he gently guided her into his hotel suite.

He noticed Jack coming down the hallway and despite his normal professionalism, Sergeant Johnson smiled as he thought about how the other man would react to seeing his hand on Elizabeth.

Once inside the room, Sergeant Johnson closed and locked the door behind them.

"I'll see you in the morning. I think tomorrow you should go back to the race track and maybe some more of the Cafés. If this doesn't work, we can try Hamilton or Ottawa. As long as those police departments are okay with it."

"Okay", Elizabeth agreed.

"You look tired. Get a good night's sleep. Make sure you don't leave your room without me or other law enforcement knowing. You're supposed to look like you're in _this_ room with me, so don't go out your front door."

"Good night", Elizabeth said wearily as she opened the door to her adjoining room. She wondered how many more days this would take and if law enforcement would begin to think the charade was a waste of time.

* * *

Closing the adjoining door behind her, Elizabeth turned in surprise when she saw Jack standing in her room.

"What are you doing in here?" she gasped in happy surprise. "We haven't had a moment together since the train yesterday!"

"I followed you down the hallway. I told you I'm not letting you out of my sight with a thieving murderess on the loose."

"What do you think? Do you think we got anyone's attention?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm not sure. We'll try again tomorrow. In the meantime, how about giving your real fiancé some attention."

Elizabeth smiled and picked up Jack's hands. She ran her finger gently along the knuckles before bringing one hand, then the other, to her lips and tenderly kissing them.

"A week ago, our only concern was a stupid misunderstanding about whether we were talking about an engagement ring or about you meeting my mother. How did we end up here?" she asked in bewilderment.

"I don't know. Let's not think about it any more tonight."

She looked into his eyes and then her eyes moved to his lips. _He has such nice lips_ , she thought longingly.

Jack moved her hair off the side of her neck, then leaned his head forward and placed those perfect lips on her newly exposed area, softly kissing her pale skin.

"Your mom says we've had plenty of practice kissing, but personally, I think we could use a little more."

Elizabeth knew he shouldn't be there. Late at night. The two of them together.

"You should not be with me in my hotel room", she whispered in his ear as he nuzzled her neck with his warm mouth.

She shouldn't be letting him kiss her.

She shouldn't be kissing him back.

She shouldn't be so incredibly attracted to him in this moment.

But she was.

"Then we'll just talk", he announced as he led her to the sole chair in the room and gently drew her onto his lap.

"And just what did you plan on talking about?", Elizabeth asked humorously.

Jack touched her face, softly pulling it close to his. "About your kisses", he said quietly before he placed his mouth on hers again.

* * *

The discreet, yet urgent-sounding, rapping on the adjoining door caused them to break apart. Elizabeth stood up from where she had been sitting on Jack's lap and hurriedly walked to the door.

She had barely opened it when the man's strong arm on the other side reached through the opening and grabbed her.

"Get in here! I need you", Sergeant Johnson demanded as he pulled her into his room.

Jack jumped up from the chair and charged across the floor, following after his fiancée as she disappeared with the older man.

"Someone's at the door. Says she's here to turn down the bed. This could be it. The other woman. Or an accomplice", Sergeant Johnson said in a hushed voice as he motioned for Elizabeth to sit down.

"What are you doing here? You can't be in here", he asked when he looked over and noticed Jack.

"I am not leaving Elizabeth in a hotel room with you, and with a possible criminal on the other side of the door", Jack said sternly before quickly going to the front door and putting his ear to it, listening for any sounds on the other side.

"She has to be in the room with me, you fool. That's the plan."

"Who are you calling a fool?" Jack responded angrily in a hushed but harsh voice.

"Sir, Turn-down service. You want me to go come back?" The woman's voice called through the door.

"No, no. I said I'll be right there. Just a minute."

"For God's sakes, try to be sexy", Sergeant Johnson said in disgust when he looked at Elizabeth sitting primly on the edge of the bed.

"She doesn't need to _try_ to be sexy. She _is_ sexy", Jack said hotly while trying to keep his voice down.

"She is not sexy. She's a prim and proper school teacher", Sergeant Johnson said dismissively.

"She is too sexy. And you keep your hands off of her."

"Why in the world would I want to put my hands on her?" Sergeant Johnson asked incredulously. "This is just for show!"

"Gentlemen! I am right here", Elizabeth hissed angrily. "And someone is at the door! Jack, get in the closet or the other room! Mark, answer the door!"

Elizabeth didn't know whether to feel happy that Jack was defending her as being sexy or insulted that he was calling her sexy. _Do I want to be sexy?_ _Is it okay for an unmarried school teacher to be sexy? . . . What makes me sexy?_ . . . _I'll have to figure that out later._

Looking down at her dress, she quickly undid the top two buttons and stretched the opening apart.

Pulling out her hair comb, Elizabeth tousled her long hair, intending for it to look attractively messy. Instead, it fell in her eyes. reminding her of a horse whose mane needed braiding. She quickly pushed it out of the way.

 _I'll pose like I've seen ladies in paintings!_

She leaned back slightly on the foot of the bed, trying to maintain what she hoped looked like a relaxed seductive posture rather than someone who had a broken back and couldn't sit up straight.

"Just a minute!", Sergeant Johnson yelled.

He hurriedly lit some candles and turned off the lights before now going to the door. The dimmer the lighting in the room, the better chance of Elizabeth being mistaken for the other woman.

* * *

"Come in. Please", Sergeant Johnson said as he let the chambermaid into the room. "I'll just go change while you turn down the bed."

He gave a lecherous smile in Elizabeth's direction and moved towards the small bathroom.

The chambermaid set some fresh towels on the dresser and then moved to the head of the bed, folding down the top quilt. As she fluffed the pillows, Elizabeth realized in disappointment that they had been wrong. This was just an ordinary chambermaid doing her evening tasks.

Elizabeth stood up and poured herself a glass of water from the crystal pitcher on the night stand, which had been placed there by the afternoon maid service.

"What are you doing here?" the chambermaid hissed angrily. "You're not supposed to be in Calgary this week. Are you trying to cheat us out of our share?"

Elizabeth nearly dropped the glass. She didn't dare turn around and face the woman.

"If you think you can do this by yourself and keep the money, you better think again. Oh, I'm sure you didn't expect Bobby to spot you at the jewelry store, but he did. And then again when you were leaving the dress shop. If you try to cheat us, you'll be sorry."

'Look at me!", she demanded of Elizabeth as she brusquely grabbed her arm and turned her around.

Even in the dim candlelight, Elizabeth could see the look of surprise on the chambermaid's face when, just inches apart, she realized her mistake.

The woman's back was to the bathroom as Sergeant Johnson came through the doorway and turned on the lights.

"I'd like to hear more about this Bobby . . and the woman you think you're talking to", he said sternly as he grabbed the chambermaid's arms and placed her in handcuffs before she could bolt from the room.

"So would I", Jack announced as he exited the closet.

* * *

Four days later, Elizabeth and Jack were back in Hope Valley after having given their statements and said their goodbyes to Constable Wilson and Sergeant Johnson, who had recommended that Elizabeth receive an official commendation for her work in ensuring the arrest of the fake Elizabeth Thatcher, whose real name was Myrna.

The chambermaid had provided all the necessary details. It had apparently all begun as a simple chance accident of sorts. Someone who vaguely knew Elizabeth from teachers college had mistaken Myrna for her. Seizing on the mistaken identity, Myrna hadn't bothered to correct the person. And later, once one person had identified Myrna as Elizabeth Thatcher to law enforcement, others mistakenly followed suit.

When she had eventually confronted Myrna face to face after the woman's arrest, Elizabeth stared at her, trying to see some resemblance. But other than the same hair color, Elizabeth couldn't see other similarities.

"You're much thinner and prettier", Jack agreed with Elizabeth, who complained hotly that she looked nothing like Myrna.

"I can't imagine why people would think you were the same person. It must just be the hair style and color. And well, you are about the same age."

 _And coloring, and the same eye color, and the same nose, the same height, same cheekbones, and you probably weigh within two pounds of each other,_ he thought to himself, but smartly knew better than to argue with Elizabeth _._

While Jack was contemplating Elizabeth's look, Elizabeth tried to forget that Sergeant Johnson, in addition to putting her in for a commendation, had also mentioned to her that now that the investigation was over, he was planning on corresponding with her mother on a personal level. She shook her head as she imagined Mark Johnson courting her mother and possibly, god forbid, being Jack's father-in-law one day.

 _It has been a most eventful week._ _I got engaged. I got arrested by my fiance. I helped capture three criminals while seducing a man other than my fiance._ _Life with Jack is certainly going to be interesting._

* * *

As she cleared away their dinner dishes from Jack's desk and placed them on the floor by the front door, Elizabeth smiled at how much she and Jack now enjoyed the privacy of eating in the jail even though she no longer needed to remain there.

"I got you a little something when we were in Calgary", Jack announced as he walked across the room to retrieve something from his bedroom.

"When did you have time?"

"I made a quick trip one morning when you were still asleep. I went back to one of the shops you had been in."

 _Shops? Oh dear lord. Not when I was looking at unmentionables!_ _Not the pretty lacy negligee I held. Or the pale pink silk . . Oh, not that one! It was so . . . beautiful . . . and delicate . . and . . . barely there. And he saw me holding it?!_

"Shops?" She tried to keep her voice steady. "Is it a book?", she volunteered.

Jack laughed. "No, it is most definitely not a book. I'll give you a clue. It's something you wear."

"Something to wear?" She swallowed nervously thinking about some of the other garments she had looked at as part of the plan. There had been a few low cut dresses and silk stockings. A few lacy corsets. But mostly negligee after negligee. _As much as I love Jack, he can't expect me to wear something like . . those . . . items . . before we're married. It wouldn't be right!_

"A coat?" she volunteered hopefully.

"A coat?!" Jack looked puzzled. "Why in the world would I just go and buy you a coat?"

"To keep me warm", she answered. "It can get very cold here in the wintertime."

"Well, this is not going to keep you warm", he laughed. "It's thin and delicate. Barely weighs anything."

"But I don't need anything to wear", she offered.

"I know you don't _need_ it, but I want to see you wearing it. I can't stop thinking about it every time I see you. I hope it's not too tight."

"I'm sure I'll appreciate it when you eventually give it to me", she said quickly. Her cheeks beginning to feel flushed.

"I'm going to give it to you to put on now." His shook his head slightly and smiled in bemusement at her.

"Now?"

"I think we've waited long enough. Don't you?"

"Jack, I can't wear it until we're married", she protested nervously.

"Until we're married?" he asked in confusion. "I want to see you wearing it before we're married. I thought that was the whole idea."

 _I must be sexier than I thought! I didn't mean to imply that I would . . . do that!_

Elizabeth now slowly turned around to face Jack.

Her eyes registered her surprise when she saw the size of the small box which he was holding.

 _Why nothing could fit in there but . . but ._. .

 _Thank the lord._

She looked at Jack and smiled when he opened the box.

It was the most perfect engagement ring she had ever seen.

 **Up next: Chapter 25**

 **Dear Readers: Leave it to Elizabeth to be a victim of identity theft more than 100 years ago!**


	25. Chapter 25- Lessons to be Learned

**Dear Readers: Thank you so much for your past reviews. (Thanks Lori for the last motivation to hurry up and write another chapter)**

 **Chapter 25 Lessons to be Learned**

 _What is she doing now?_ Jack thought as he stopped in the doorway to the kitchen and watched Elizabeth sitting at the table.

As Jack watched, Elizabeth smiled and put her engagement ring back on her finger after first having held in between her fingers, breathed heavily on it, and stared at it for two seconds. She now made a mark on the piece of paper in front of her.

"Check", she said quietly with another smile.

"Jack! I didn't see you come in", she called out when she looked up after feeling his presence.

"What are you doing?"

"Homework."

"What kind of homework entails taking off your engagement ring?"

"Your mother's", Elizabeth answered with a slight frown. "She's keeping me busy."

"Do you happen to have any ruby cuff links?" she added after consulting her paper.

"Actually I do. But I don't generally wear them with my uniform, or when playing darts, riding, chopping wood, or any of my other daily activities. And I can't remember the last time Hope Valley had a ball where I wore a tuxedo. Oh yeah, never", he replied with a grin.

"What's this all about?" Jack asked as he filled up a cup with tea and took a seat across from Elizabeth.

"Your mother apparently has quite a collection of jewelry -–"

"She does", Jack said with a nod as he set down his cup

"And she seems to think that one day she'll die and I'll inherit it", Elizabeth said worriedly.

Jack let out a loud chuckle. "Mom likes to be prepared for everything."

"She says that every lady needs to know the basics of jewelry. According to her, I won't be accepting jewelry from anyone but you, but it's still important for me to know the difference between real jewels and fake. So she's given me a list of tests which I'm supposed to learn. She seems to think I need to know all this to be a good wife. Apparently, I'm way behind in my lessons. Not just jewelry but bone china, crystal, silverware-"

"I'm sure you'll be fine", Jack said with a smile.

"She doesn't think I'll be able to learn everything before we're married", Elizabeth said with a frown.

"Did you tell her that you're busy with teaching?"

"She wrote that one is never too busy to learn. She also wrote that as a teacher, I would already agree with that", Elizabeth grumbled.

"So, let me guess. You want to hold my ruby cuff links up to the light and see if there are green and yellow colors in the light spectrum."

"Yes!" Elizabeth said in astonishment. "According to your mom, a ruby shouldn't have them."

"That's right. Mine are real by the way, . . .just in case you're worried about your inheritance when I die one day", he said with a smile.

"Don't talk that way!"

* * *

The next evening, Elizabeth tucked her hair behind her ears and looked across the table at Jack as he served her a plateful of wonderful smelling food _. How can he look so handsome after a long day,_ she thought as she imagined how she must look.

She was exhausted now that she was back to teaching and getting the students caught up on the work they had missed while she was in jail and in Calgary.

"This is just what I needed", she remarked as she looked at the table he had set with candles.

"Another evening in jail?" Jack chuckled.

 _God, I love when he grins at me like that._

"Another evening with _you_."

"Well, it's not exactly dinner at the Ritz. . . . with Sergeant Johnson."

"It's the company that counts. But seriously Jack, you deserve your own place. Not just a room attached to the back of the jailhouse."

"I don't mind. And eventually _we_ will have our own place. On the other hand, you deserve to teach in a real school, Elizabeth. Not a saloon. When my parents were here, I showed them around town a bit. My mom wants to donate enough money to build a schoolhouse for you."

"That's very sweet of her. But—"

"But?"

"I don't think it's a good idea. People in Hamilton are already talking about the difference in our social status. I don't want to give people anything more to talk about. I'm not marrying you for your money. Or your family's money. "

"Besides, I'm building the school!' she added with a big smile.

" _You're_ building the school?" Jack looked at her skeptically. "You can't even cook."

"Hush", Elizabeth said as she swatted his arm. "I got a letter from Sergeant Johnson today!"

"What could that oaf possibly write to make you so happy?"

"I'm getting a reward! For catching Myrna! It should cover the costs of most of the materials. And if the townspeople donate their labor, we'll have a schoolhouse!"

"So, as a townsperson, _I'll_ be building the school, not you", Jack noted with a smirk.

" _We_ will be building the school . . . with the help of the town. But I will let your family name help me out in another way."

"It's going to be _your_ family name soon", Jack reminded her.

Elizabeth grinned at the thought, "I know. And I think it's already proving useful."

"How so?"

"I wrote to the superintendent of schools about getting married. When I took this assignment, I knew it was for unmarried teachers, but I've asked for an exception. And . . .I think with your family name, and your mother's donations to various educational institutions, the superintendent will be more than happy to grant me an exception."

"So, you're not above using the Thornton name when it suits your purposes", Jack observed.

"I learn quickly", Elizabeth said with a smile as Jack leaned in for a kiss before he stood up to get them some water.

"Speaking of learning, I got another letter from your mother today", Elizabeth said with a frown as Jack crossed the room to get them a pitcher.

"Elizabeth, you'll get everything figured out. How to be good at being my wife. It may be hard at first, but I have faith that that will happen sooner rather than later."

"Why do you think I'll have a hard time being a good wife?" Elizabeth asked in indignant surprise as Jack poured water into their glasses.

"Well, because you don't know anything about running a large household or managing a staff, or jewels and society matters, or cooking or even doing your own wash. Not to mention, that you –"

Jack's voice trailed off as he looked up and saw Elizabeth's frosty glare.

"Not that I care about any of that!", he added hastily as he set down the pitcher.

"You don't care?", she asked, her eyebrows raised in disbelief.

"Not in the least bit. I'm just saying that my mother and father think those things are important. Not me!"

"So you don't care if I hire household staff that turns out to be a band of thieves which runs off with the family jewels and replaces them with fakes that I'm too stupid to detect."

"Nope." Jack sat back down and picked up his fork, and began eating.

"And when the kitchen staff runs off with our jewels and I'm left to do all the cooking and I accidently burn down the family mansion, you won't care?" Elizabeth asked skeptically.

"Not one bit", Jack replied with a shrug and a smile. "Family mansions are over-rated."

"Liar"

"Aah, but I'm your liar", he responded with a charming grin.

* * *

A week later, the sounds of nails being hammered into wood filled the air as the town volunteers began framing the school house. Elizabeth, a basket filled with sandwiches on her arm, approached the work crew and paused by Jack.

He stopped hammering and smiled when he looked up to find her standing next to him.

Elizabeth pushed against the wooden 2 x 4, testing its sturdiness.

"Nice job", she remarked.

"Contrary to what you may think, I am capable of a great deal beyond my boarding school and fancy college education", Jack replied humorously.

"Never said you weren't. In fact, I'm hoping there a quite a few things you're capable of showing me once we're married", Elizabeth replied, leaving Jack suddenly feeling flustered.

* * *

Four days later, Elizabeth was looking at Mrs. Thornton's latest letter which explained the difference between morning dress, morning grey, and Scottish Highland dress, and the various roles of staff for formal functions, when she heard the commotion outside. Picking up the ruby cuff links Jack has given her to examine, she stuffed them in her pocket and crossed the room.

"What's going on?" she asked as she stepped outside and saw a crowd of people standing around Jack's horse.

"Jack's horse came back. Without him."

* * *

 _Think. Think. Just remain calm and think. He was gone for three nights. There's still a little food in his saddlebag which means his horse left him before Jack had breakfast. He was supposed to stay outside of Union City last night. If he was closer to Union City when his horse left him, he would have made his way back there by foot and sent me a telegram. Which he hasn't done. So . . . figuring out when he normally stops for the night, when he normally sets out in the morning, and how fast he travels by horse, . . .God, I hate math sometimes! . . . He's got to be no more than four hours away. If I ride quickly, I can do it in two hours_.

* * *

Elizabeth, riding astride the roan mare, crossed the open fields, followed the deer trails through the woods that she knew Jack normally took, and stayed close to streams when she came upon them and they were headed in her general direction.

Pausing to look around, she rested one hand momentarily on her leg and felt something hard in her skirt pocket. She remembered Jack's words about his ruby cuff links. "Mine are real by the way, . . .just in case you're worried about your inheritance when I die one day", he had said with a smile.

 _Not today, Jack,_ she thought as she prodded the horse into a canter.

* * *

Elizabeth had traveled almost two hours when she saw the dot of a figure off in the distance, walking along the bottom of a steep gully.

* * *

"I'm fine. I just twisted my ankle. I was just about to get breakfast started when my horse got spooked by a wolf. I think it was rabid. I shot it before it could attack the horse. . . or me. .. but my horse knocked me down and I ended up with a twisted ankle and some bumps and bruises. . . . And no horse." Jack explained after Elizabeth had left her horse halfway down the hill and scurried down the rocks to help him.

"How did you end up down the canyon?", Elizabeth asked as she helped Jack climb up the rocky sides.

"That would be when my horse knocked me down", Jack said as if it were obvious.

"And then I waited awhile to see if he would come back. And, well, obviously he didn't. I've been walking along the bottom of the canyon trying to find an easy path back up. It's one hell of a long canyon. And I've been moving pretty slowly with my ankle."

As they approached the top of the hill, Jack looked around. First casually and then whipping his head from side to side as if looking for something.

"Elizabeth?", he asked hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"Where's your horse?"

Elizabeth looked around frantically. "Damn!"

"You did tie it up, didn't you?"

" . . No. . . I was in a hurry to get to you!"

"Well, he's gone."

"I can see that!", Elizabeth wailed.

"We've got a long walk back to Hope Valley." Jack observed matter- of-factly.

Jack paused for a moment as if contemplating something before speaking.

"In fact, it's the same distance of walking as before you came to rescue me."

"What's your point exactly" Elizabeth asked with an indignant furrowed brow.

"Just that your rescuing of me needs a little work", Jack said casually with a shrug.

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

Jack didn't answer but responded with another question.

"Did you happen to bring me back my breakfast?"

Elizabeth cringed _. Damn, I knew there was something I forgot._

When Jack saw her face, he shook his head slightly and his face creased into small smile. "I also notice that you don't have a water canteen with you. So that means, you'll be sharing my water."

 _Damn again!_ _It was on the horse_. Elizabeth thought in frustration.

"So. . . I have just as far to walk as before because you lost your horse. I still don't have breakfast, and now I have to share my water ration with you. If the situation were reversed and you were the Mountie and I were the school teacher, I'd have to give you a C minus for this rescue attempt. Maybe even a D+ . . . and you only get a passing grade because I like the way you look."

"Get moving, Constable", Elizabeth ordered.

* * *

An hour later, the terrain had changed from the valleys and open fields to deep woods.

"I'm starving", Jack grumbled.

"When did you last eat?"

"Yesterday."

"It's going to be several hours till we make it back to town. I hate killing animals, but if we catch something, will you kill it?"

"I've only got one shell left and we should save that for protection", Jack replied as he lifted his rifle.

"You got a knife?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes. But just how do you plan on catching this fabulous meal for us?"

"We'll set a trap."

"That's a great idea. Except for one thing", Jack said wryly. "We don't have any bait for a trap."

"Oh, yes we do."

"If you've got food you didn't tell me about, I swear I'm hungry enough I may just fight you for it."

Elizabeth laughed. "Not food. Jewels", she said as she took Jack's cuff links out of her pocket and held them out. "Big fancy sparkly rubies."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "Are you planning on enticing some wild animal? Because last time I checked, they don't wear fancy French cuff shirts."

"Well, my rich city-boy fiancé, I'm going to teach you a thing or two about jewels. Something even your mother doesn't know."

* * *

"That's the best raccoon I ever ate. I have to admit it's also the only raccoon I've ever eaten", Jack said as he finished chewing the meat off the bone and tossed it into the fire. "But it sure hits the spot."

True to her word, Elizabeth had caught a raccoon. Jack had done the remainder. Killing and skinning it. He even had offered to be the one to cook it over the small fire. Although Elizabeth suspected that his offer was more out of worry that she would burn the meal, rather than a sense of chivalry on his part.

They sat by the burning pile of sticks, finishing the remainder of the animal and sharing Jack's water canteen.

"So, is that the kind of thing I'm going to teach our kids one day? How to live off the land using their grandmother's heirloom jewels to catch wild animals. God, mother would have a fit if she knew what we just did. You do realize those ruby cuff links cost more than most people in Hope Valley make in six months?"

"And they weren't harmed in anyway", Elizabeth said smugly as she threw a bone into the flame and looked around for a place to wipe her hands.

"So, did you do that a lot growing up?"

"Me? Never. I can't stand the idea of hurting animals. But the neighboring boys did. Usually just once or twice to get their first coon. You need a coon to teach hounds to hunt. And lots of folks don't want their kids handling guns before they're 12 or 13, and this is an easy way to trap. Of course, the boys didn't use ruby and gold cuff links. Anything shiny that attracts the raccoon's attention will do, even a simple tin can."

"I don't understand", Jack shook his head in disbelief. "All the raccoon had to do was let go of the cuff link and he could have gotten away. "

"But that's just it. The raccoon won't let go. They're obsessed with shiny objects. Your fianceé, on the other hand, is obsessed with her handsome Mountie", Elizabeth added as she reached over and wiped the raccoon grease from Jack's mouth before replacing it with her lips.

* * *

"Are you sure we're going in the right direction?" Elizabeth asked as Jack held her hand while she stepped over a fallen log.

"Actually, I'm not. I think we're heading north, but with the woods being so thick and the clouds blocking out the sun, it's hard to tell."

"I don't suppose my trusty Mountie happens to have his compass with him."

"Sorry, it was in my saddlebag. And the moss is growing on both sides of trees because the forest is so dense, so that's no help."

"Well, we're going to have to make a compass", Elizabeth said as she stopped and sat on a fallen dead tree, and pulled out her small sewing kit from her pocket.

It was just one needle threaded with black thread, one needle threaded with white thread, two pins, and a pair of scissors less than two inches in size, but Elizabeth found a strange sense of comfort in carrying this small sewing kit with her.

"You always carry that with you?", Jack asked.

"You know I do."

"You always carry a sewing kit, but you couldn't manage to bring me food or water", he said teasingly.

"Hush. I fed you."

"You planning on sewing us a compass?" Jack asked humorously.

Elizabeth gave him an exasperated look before holding out her hand. "Your handkerchief please, kind sir."

"Is this silk?" she asked as she ran her fingers on it after Jack took it from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Of course. From the finest men's clothier in Hamilton. Only the best for a Thornton man", he replied with a smile.

Jack watched curiously as Elizabeth tore the thread off one of the sewing needles, and then began rubbing one end of the needle across the silk handkerchief, over and over again.

"I have no absolutely no idea what you're doing, but you are the most amazing woman I have ever met. Will you marry me?"

Elizabeth looked up and returned his smile. "Yes. I will. And I'm making us a compass."

"Out of a needle and a piece of silk?"

"A _magnetized_ needle. And a leaf and a puddle", Elizabeth added as she stood up.

Finding a small pool of water left over from yesterday's storm, Elizabeth placed the leaf on top of the water and then gently placed the needle on the leaf. Jack watched in bewilderment as the floating leaf slowly spun around and then stopped. He had no idea what Elizabeth was doing but he thought she looked awfully pretty doing it.

"That way's north", Elizabeth stated pointing in the direction that one end of the thin metal needle was pointing.

"What just happened?"

"Science, Constable Thornton. Never underestimate science. . . or school teachers", she added with a smile as she stood up, kissed him on the cheek, and started walking north.

"Oh, I'll never underestimate you", Jack said quietly with a mixture of awe, bewilderment, and something close to alarm as he hurried to catch up to her.

* * *

"Maybe we should turn around and make camp back in that cave we saw."

"Jack! We can't go back. Not when we've come this far."

"You're right. Just wait up a minute. I need to rest my ankle."

"I can wait. For as long as it takes. We'll take our time"

"But not too much time." Jack said as he looked around at the wilderness and then up towards the sky. It's going to be getting dark"

Elizabeth sat on the ground, not even bothering to try to keep her skirt clean. She watched as Jack rubbed his sore ankle and then took a thirsty gulp of water.

"Jack, I'm going to learn it all", Elizabeth said quietly, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Learn what?" Jack set down the canteen and looked at her curiously.

"Your mother's lessons."

"Elizabeth, I'm sorry if my mother's been giving you a hard time about getting married. I know she can be difficult. You're being a good sport."

Jack hobbled over to Elizabeth when he saw her wipe away the wetness falling down from her eyes.

"Hey, what's with the tears?", he said tenderly as his fingers gently ran along her cheeks, clearing away the tears. "I don't care a thing about any of that stuff, you know that."

"I know. . . . I . . . I just want you to know how much I want to be married to you. I was really worried about you. When you were missing this morning-"

"Shh. I'm sorry I worried you. And I'm okay." His voice was gentle and sweet as he gave her a small kiss.

"From the first day I met you... you . . . you got to me." Elizabeth paused to catch her breath so she wouldn't break into a sobbing mess before earnestly continuing. "All I knew was that I wanted to be with you. No matter what. We're meant for each other. I love you and I'm going to be the very best wife to you."

"I'm not worried about that. I already know you're going to be the best wife. I'm more worried about being the best husband." Jack said with a slight shake of his head and a frown.

Elizabeth looked at him in surprise.

"Why would you worry about that?", she asked in bewilderment before blurting out "You're perfect."

Jack chuckled. "I'll remind you of that when we're married and I forget to do something."

"Why would you be worried?" Elizabeth asked again.

Your mom gave me quite the talking to when she was in town."

"At least she didn't give you a list of things to learn", Elizabeth said, feeling sorry for herself.

Jack laughed even louder. "I didn't show it to you yet. It arrived in the mail earlier this week. Do you have any idea how many types of chickens she expects me to know?!"

 **Up Next: chapter 26**

 **Dear Readers: Just in case any of you plan on marrying a rich city boy, below is Mrs. Thornton's lesson on jewels.**

 _Mrs. Thornton's Lesson Number #1: Jewelry_

 _1\. Breathe on sapphires and diamonds to make them fog up. If they are real, the fog will disappear within one to two seconds. If it takes longer, the stones are fake._

 _2\. Hold a ruby up to the light. It should not have yellow or green in its light spectrum (rainbow). If it has yellow or green lights, it may be a garnet. Garnets are also very pretty, but far less valuable than rubies, more orange in color than red, and a softer stone._

 _3\. Rub pearls against your teeth. If they are real, they will feel gritty. Also a real pearl necklace will have a knot in the string between_ _each_ _pearl._

 _4\. Jade is heavier than it looks and initially will feel cold when you touch it. It will warm up as you hold it._

 _5\. Amber is very light and will float in a glass of salt water. Fake amber (glass) will sink._


	26. Chapter 26 - Love on the Hilltop

**Chapter 26 – Love on the Hilltop**

It was late in the afternoon by the time Jack and Elizabeth crossed the last hill and saw Hope Valley nestled peacefully in the dip of the earth. It was such a nice welcoming sight that they stopped to take in the small cluster of buildings. The lake. The simple dirt roads. Before they realized it, they were sitting quietly in the tall grass watching the town.

Elizabeth sat like a lady with her knees bent and flat on the grass, her feet together and off to one side. Jack sat next to her with his feet flat on the ground, his arms resting on his bent knees. He picked a long blade of grass and fingered it. Enjoying the peacefulness. This was one of the reasons he had wanted to be a Mountie. To work outside. To be able to appreciate nature and beauty around him.

"How'd you know?" he asked thoughtfully after a few minutes of silence while they rested from their hours of walking.

"Know what?"

"That I was the one. That it was love."

"How did _you_ know? she retorted with a smile. "That _I_ was the one. That it was love".

"That's easy. It was in Hamilton."

"Hamilton?"

Jack grinned as he looked at the horizon and thought about it. "It was the first time we were there visiting. At the dinner party. When the butler announced that dinner was served and we went into the dining room, you sat across from me. And I remember thinking. . . . This is what it's going to be like. We're going to be having dinners together as a _couple_. At other people's homes. At my parents for holidays. At social events. And one day in our own home. It wasn't like I was just wishing it would happen. Or wondering _if_ it would happen. I just knew. I knew it would happen. I knew without doubt that my life belonged with you. That you were the one and we were going to be happy together. Married one day."

"You just knew?" Elizabeth's questioned in surprise.

"Yeah. I just knew. It was you. You were the one for me. Forever."

"Just because I was sitting there at the table?" she asked with a small crease in her brow.

"I guess it was the fact that I liked the idea of you always being with me. Three meals a day. Every day. For the rest of my life. Seeing you sitting there across from me made me think of all the meals we were going to have together. I imagined having breakfast with you after waking up together and your hair being all tousled and maybe you in your nightdress. Lunch on a Sunday afternoon. Dinner with little ones running around, or even just the two of us after a long day of work. After that, whenever we had a disagreement, I would just think back to that dinner in Hamilton . . . to that moment when I knew . . . and I believed everything was going to somehow be okay."

Jack smiled and turned to look at her. "What about me? What incredibly handsome thing was I doing when you looked at me and knew I was the one?"

Elizabeth laughed. "You were barely even there."

"Barely even there?!"

Elizabeth didn't look at Jack, but stared out in the distance when she thought about the pain of that night.

"It was one night when you were late coming back from your rounds. I was grading papers and realized that you should have been back to town already. I remember I looked at my watch and thought 'he's only a little late. He'll stop by soon.' I wasn't too worried and I went back to my schoolwork. About 20 minutes later, I got up and looked out the window and you still weren't back. So I tried to read a book, but I couldn't. Then I started going to the window every five minutes to look for you. . . . You had been late sometimes before that night and I had been concerned before. But this was different. This made my heart feel like it was tied up in knots. Like it would never work right again. Finally, when you were almost two hours late, I couldn't concentrate on anything and I found myself just standing at the window waiting to see you. I stood in front of the window for 34 minutes until you rode into town."

"34 minutes?"

"I looked at my watch and counted every minute. . . every single minute", she said solemnly. "Telling myself that you'd be back before the second hand made it around again."

Jack sat silently as he imagined her standing at the window, illuminated by the indoor light of the lantern as she had pulled back the curtains and looked into the evening for him.

"And then what?" he finally asked, feeling guilty that he had made her worry.

"I saw you riding into town and I burst into tears."

"You burst into tears?", he asked in surprise.

"It was like I could breathe again. My world had been frozen waiting to see you return safely. When I saw you, all the tension and worry I had waiting for you . . . it just came out in tears. I knew at that moment that everything I wanted in the world . . . in my future. . . involved doing it with you by my side. I still wanted to be a teacher . . . but I wanted to do it as your wife. I wanted to live wherever your job sent you. And if we were stationed somewhere and I couldn't teach for awhile, that was okay with me. All I remember thinking when I saw you ride into town was that I could breathe again. I could sleep that night. I couldn't imagine being happy without you. I knew I wanted to be your wife. Forever."

"I would never ask you to stop teaching", Jack responded.

"I know", she answered simply.

"But you would be okay with us moving somewhere even if you couldn't teach?"

"Of course. I love you."

Neither one spoke for a moment as they remained quietly on the grass, side by side, thinking of when friendship and infatuation had turned to love. Jack reached for her hand and they intertwined their fingers.

"It's pretty nice, huh? Knowing you're with the one you're supposed to be with", he finally said with a smile.

"Yeah, it is", she smiled back.

"How about we make out?" he suggested with boyish charm as he leaned in for a kiss.

* * *

As they rolled in the grass, the late day sun beat down on them. It would have been too hot if not for the light breeze blowing across the hilltop.

Elizabeth loved the way Jack's hands made her feel. The way his palms and fingers caressed her body while he kissed her with his warm soft lips.

"You make me feel so good", she whispered as he took his mouth off hers just long enough to run his tongue down her neck past the two top buttons of her blouse which he had already undone. She leaned her head back enjoying the dampness his tongue left on her cleavage. His hands ran along her blouse, making her ache to have him touch her even more. To hold him closer.

"Feelings mutual", he said before capturing her mouth again.

He had never before found a mouth as sensual as hers. He found everything about her sensual. But it was her mouth. Oh, that mouth of hers. That was the most incredible. It made him want to pull her tighter. To touch her more. To have her hands press along his body. He wanted her mouth on his body. Her lips on his chest. Kissing his skin.

"I think we should hurry up and get married."

"I couldn't agree more."

 **Up next, Chapter 27**


	27. Chapter 27 - The Park

**Dear readers, This is pretty long. So take your time and enjoy! If a bit of it seems familiar to you, it's because I followed some of the ideas from Vignette 6, Wedding Dust, which was published last year. I liked that scenario so much, I decided to change it up a bit by Reversing the roles, of course!**

 **Chapter 27**

"How are the wedding plans coming along?" Abigail asked as she noticed Elizabeth sitting at the kitchen table looking through a stack of papers.

"Horribly."

"Why? What's happened now?"

"I got a telegram from Mrs. Thornton telling me to stop making all my plans because she's taking care of everything."

"Does she remember that you're the bride?", Abigail asked humorously.

Elizabeth frowned. "No. I had Jack mention in a letter that we were thinking about getting married here in Hope Valley and she said NO."

"Oh dear."

"I also got another letter from her yesterday."

"What'd she say?"

Elizabeth changed her voice to mimic Mrs. Thornton's clipped high society manner of speaking. "When Hamilton's most eligible bachelor gets married, people want to _seeee_ the bride. They want to enjoy the _splendooor_ of the occasion"

Abigail laughed at Elizabeth's imitation of her future mother-in-law.

"She also wrote that this will be a great opportunity for entertaining business contacts and society members, as well as to hold me up as an example of what a good education can do for 'poor barefoot illiterate children'".

"Nooo!" gasped Abigail. "She didn't actually say that you had been poor, barefoot, and illiterate as a child?"

"Oh, yes ,she did. I wrote her this morning and explained that the only time I was both barefoot and illiterate was before I was four years old and my mom didn't make me wear shoes when I played. As for being poor, we weren't as rich as the Thorntons, but were weren't exactly sleeping in street gutters".

Abigail gave Elizabeth a sympatric shrug.

"I give up for today. I've spent too much time getting frustrated with her," Elizabeth said.

"Is that the new issue of Ladies Home Journal?" Abigail asked eagerly as she saw the magazine on the table.

"It is!"

* * *

"Jack, what's your favorite part about me?" Elizabeth asked twenty minutes later as Jack came in the kitchen.

"What?" Jack walked past her sitting at the table and opened the icebox.

"I'm reading an article in Ladies Home Journal about marriage. What's your favorite part about me?"

"Your mouth."

"My mouth?"

"Yep." Jack moved to the cupboard and took out a glass. "You want some lemonade?"

"No, thanks." Elizabeth shook her head before asking with interest, "Why my mouth?"

"Your lips are really thin. Which seems like they shouldn't be that great for kissing, but –"

Elizabeth interrupted. "My lips are not really thin!" she argued.

"Yeah, they are. Especially your top lip. It's really thin. That's why your mouth is my favorite part of you. Because it's like I know a secret. Your lips don't look like much . . but when you kiss, well. . . it's incredible. I wasn't kidding when I said your kisses are the best kisses I ever had, " Jack said nonchalantly. "Do you have any cookies?"

Elizabeth looked at him in disbelief as she stood up and walked to the cookie jar. Taking out a cookie, she handed it to Jack.

"You're actually serious about my lips being too thin?! " Elizabeth said in bewilderment.

'Seriously, no one would know by looking at your lips how unbelievably well you kiss. It's actually kind of mindboggling how much I love kissing you."

Elizabeth looked at Jack in incredulity. _He actually thinks he's complimented me!_

"I've got some paperwork to work on, but I'll see you later tonight for dinner?" he asked as he drained the glass of lemonade in two large gulps and set the glass into the sink.

Elizabeth nodded, still stunned by his critique of her mouth.

"Aren't you even going to ask what's my favorite part of you?", she asked as he headed to the door. _I'll never tell him!,_ she thought bitterly.

"Nah, I already know", he answered with a smile. "My arms."

He chuckled when he saw by her expression that he was right. "I've seen how you react when you see my arms. Especially when I'm chopping firewood, or hammering, or lifting something heavy."

"How do I react?" she asked with a wrinkled brow.

"All breathing hard", he answered with his boyish charm as he put his hat on.

"By the way, Elizabeth . .. every time I see your lips, . . ." He paused and looked at her with a smile. "I wish we were married already".

As he walked out the door, Elizabeth felt her cheeks begin to blush.

* * *

Two days later, Jack was walking down the street when he recognized Clint and Elizabeth heading into the livery. The fact that Clint was still in town had long ago stopped bothering Jack.

Although Clint could be difficult to handle sometimes, it was hard to be mad at the dramatic cowboy, especially now that he was busily courting the lumber executive's secretary who had recently moved to town.

Jack was entering the livery when he heard Clint's voice from inside one of the back stalls. He paused and then quietly moved into one of the nearby empty stalls, without either Clint or Elizabeth seeing him, as he listened to the cowboy's words.

"If the wedding is in Hamilton, it's going to make it a lot harder to kidnap you."

"I know", Elizabeth said worriedly.

"Me and the boys thought this would be back home or here. I ain't so sure about doing it in Hamilton", Clint said.

"But you have to kidnap me. That's always been the plan."

"I would love to see Jack part with some of that Thornton money of his", Clint said with a laugh.

"Don't be too greedy", Elizabeth admonished him.

"What'd your ma say when you told her that the Thorntons are insisting that you get married in Hamilton?"

"She's worried we won't be able to control things there. She thinks we should just forget about it. Maybe do something later when we're back in Hope Valley."

"She's right."

"She is not right! It has to be after the wedding ceremony and before the wedding night!" Elizabeth said irritably.

"Elizabeth, there will be too many people around. It won't work. What about Charivari?"

"Impossible. Mr. Thornton would definitely call the police."

"I don't even know these people and I already don't like them", Clint responded as he hoisted a saddle onto his horse.

"Everything's getting too complicated!" Elizabeth said in frustration.

"Don't you fret that pretty head of yours. We'll kidnap you. And rich boy better pay the ransom!"

* * *

Jack stayed hidden in the stall until he heard Clint leading out a horse with Elizabeth walking with him.

 _Who is Shiv Aree_? _What kind of name is that? Or did she mean a "shiv"? That's a slang term for knife._

 _A knife?_

 _Kidnapping?_

 _Police?_

 _What the hell?!_ , he thought.

* * *

Jack purposely arrived early for dinner, knowing that Elizabeth would be busy tutoring.

"Why don't you go ahead and wait in the parlor, Jack. She should be home in 10 minutes", Abigail told Jack as he walked into the kitchen.

While he waited for Elizabeth, Jack moved over to her desk and quickly looked at the items lying out. Magazines. Lists of possible entrees and appetizers. Fabric swatches. Sheets of music.

There was nothing out of the ordinary for a young bride preparing for her wedding, Jack realized.

When Elizabeth arrived for dinner, the two sat in the Café allowing Abigail to serve them. Although Elizabeth noticed that Jack was preoccupied, she assumed that he was concerned about work, and she rattled on discussing her school day.

* * *

Two days later, Jack was no closer to figuring out what Elizabeth was planning with her former fiancée'. He had sent a telegram to some other Mountie offices asking them to check into Clint's background but nothing troubling had come back.

Jack was coming down the steps of the mercantile and wondering the best way to approach Elizabeth with his concerns when he saw Clint walking down the street.

"You better go handle your bride. She's in tears. Why women get so emotional over a wedding I don't know", Clint said casually as he passed Jack.

Jack knocked on Elizabeth's door and hurried inside without waiting for a response. He found Elizabeth sitting at the kitchen table, which was covered with envelopes, magazines, a stack of books, and sheets of paper.

It was clear from her tear-stained face that she wasn't having a good day.

"Elizabeth, What's wrong?"

"I got another letter from your mother. And one from mine. And a letter from Julie. And one from Violet. And one from the school board."

"Whoa, whoa. Start slowly. What's going on?"

" _Your_ mother expects us to get married in Hamilton and there are so many details. _My_ mother says I should just do what I want. But I know she really wants me to get married back home. Julie and Violet don't care where we get married and they keep planning all these things but a wedding in Hamilton will interfere."

"And the school board?"

"Oh, that has nothing to do with the wedding", she said as she sniffled. "They want to know my lesson plans for next term. I just need to send them my list of reading books I've chosen. "

Jack looked at 'his Elizabeth'. _There's no way she can be planning something nefarious._

"Elizabeth, is there something you're not telling me?"

"No. Why?" she asked as she looked up from her handkerchief.

"I overheard you and Clint talking."

"About what?" she asked curiously as she dried her tears.

"About before the wedding night."

Elizabeth looked totally confused by Jack's question as she blew her nose.

"Who's Shiv Aree?" he finally asked.

"Who?"

"Shiv Aree."

Elizabeth giggled. "You mean Charivari".

"That's what I said."

"It's not a who. It's a what. It happens the night of a wedding. It comes from a French custom. On the night of the wedding, the townspeople gather outside the new bride and groom's bedroom window and bang together pots and pans, sing songs, and act outrageous to interrupt . . well to interrupt.. . " Elizabeth began to blush. "to interrupt the wedding night."

"Why?" Jack asked perplexed.

"It's just something humorous and they leave after the groom yells at them out the bedroom window and throws enough money down to them so they can go to the pub or saloon for a few rounds."

"Can I ask you another question?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth nodded as she sniffled and looked up at Jack with such trusting sweet eyes that he felt like an idiot for even asking the question.

"Are you planning on getting kidnapped and making me pay a ransom on our wedding night."

Elizabeth looked dejected and her shoulders slumped. "I was. But it won't work" she said in an accepting voice. "It's okay. We'll just get married in Hamilton with a big fancy wedding and forget about the charivari and the kidnapping. I need to get dinner started", she added as she stood up and moved to icebox.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa", he said with a look of surprise on his face. "Forget about dinner for a minute."

Elizabeth gave him a weak smile. "Jack, I am not a horse. You don't have to say 'whoa' all the time. It's okay. I was just being silly for crying. The important thing is that we are getting married."

"Elizabeth, maybe I didn't hear you correctly. I asked if you planned on getting _kidnapped_. Please sit back down. I don't think I heard you correctly when you said yes. "

"Yes, you did. I was planning on getting kidnapped. I guess I just always imagined I'd get kidnapped on my wedding night because every bride gets kidnapped", she said simply as she sat down.

"Every bride does not get kidnapped", Jack countered in total confusion.

"in my hometown they do", Elizabeth stated matter-of-factly.

"Elizabeth, I know I've never been to your hometown. But what exactly are you talking about?! What do mean get kidnapped?!", he asked with slight exasperation at not understanding the situation.

Elizabeth looked at Jack's confused face and began to giggle again despite her tears.

"Directly after the wedding ceremony, good friends of the couple 'kidnap' the bride and take her to a bar or restaurant or café. The groom has to get his bride back by finding her at the place and paying the bill after everyone celebrates with a drink. Sometimes, the party goes from place to place and the groom pays the bill for everyone at each place. People sing songs and everyone toasts the couple. And then they all go back to one place for the cake and maybe a meal."

"So you don't actually get kidnapped? And the ransom is me paying the drinking bills?"

"Yes", she said with a grin. "It's an old European custom that immigrants brought over. It shows how much you love me. That you're willing to come find me and then to pay for drinks for everyone to get me back. Small towns and country folk still keep lots of the customs from the old country," she added with a shrug.

"Elizabeth, what do you want? Where do you want to get married?" a relieved Jack asked as he sat across from her and took her hand.

"I don't care at this point. I thought I would. But it's all getting to be too much. Your mom is really being generous and the details she's written to me sound fabulous. The dinner and a beautiful dress for me and the flowers. The band. It all would be incredible." Elizabeth admitted. "But my mom doesn't think a lot of people from my hometown will be able to attend something so far away. Abigail says that I should do what I want, but I know she really wants us to get married here in Hope Valley. And she hinted that the school children want to celebrate with us. . . So I have to choose between Hamilton, Hope Valley, and my hometown. Between your mom, my mom, and Abigail."

Jack picked up a blank piece of paper and a pen from the table and handed them to Elizabeth.

"Write down the one person you most want to be at the wedding."

When Elizabeth had written something down, Jack continued. "Write down the most important aspect of the wedding to you."

He watched as she quickly wrote something and then looked up at him.

"Now write down the part of the wedding that will make you the happiest."

Jack sat down at the table across from Elizabeth and watched as she wrote the third thing on the paper and then passed it over to him.

"We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning", he said with determination and a smile when he read her list. "We're going to make this happen."

* * *

Not wanting anyone to know what they were up to, they had left Hope Valley separately. Elizabeth had written Abigail a short note telling her she would be gone for the weekend and had then slipped out the back door with her suitcase in hand just moments before the stagecoach had arrived.

The stagecoach had picked up Jack with his suitcase a mile out of town, where he had walked to avoid anyone seeing them leaving together. There was no reason to start the town gossiping about the young couple leaving town together.

On the stage coach ride to the train station, they hadn't stopped smiling.

* * *

They had been too excited to sleep on the train ride. Once they arrived at the bustling Calgary station, they had taken a taxi to the most opulent five star hotel in the city. Elizabeth had remained outside while Jack reserved a room and dropped off their bags. Despite the fact that they were going to be sharing a room in a few hours, she felt shy about entering a hotel with him until that time.

When they had walked past a department store on their way to the Calgary Courthouse, they both stopped on the sidewalk at the sight of the white dress in the store front window. It wasn't meant as a wedding dress but Jack looked at Elizabeth and nodded to the window. "You'd look perfect in that."

Forty minutes, a smiling Elizabeth, now in the white dress, and a grinning Jack, now with two gold rings in pocket, walked out of a jewelry store and headed towards the city center.

The Courthouse was closed for the weekend, but they managed to get the name and address of one of the judges from the janitor who was mopping the marble floor in the grand entrance way.

* * *

It took three knocks on the stately front door in the residential neighborhood until it was opened by the judge's housekeeper.

"I'm sorry, Judge Robinson isn't home", she responded to Jack's question.

"Do you know when he'll be returning?", Jack asked as Elizabeth's face fell in disappointment.

"Not till late this evening. The family's having a picnic dinner in the park."

"The park?" Jack asked suddenly feeling hopeful.

"Central Memorial Park on 12 Avenue, South West. It's just a short walk from here, Sir."

Jack and Elizabeth held hands and smiled at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"Are you sure it's okay to interrupt a family picnic?" Elizabeth asked as they walked down the tree-lined street.

"I'm a Thornton. And you're a beautiful bride. It won't be a problem at all", Jack answered with a grin.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Jack and Elizabeth were standing in the park, surrounded by tall flowers swaying in the late evening breeze as white geese, returning to their nests on the grassy shore, swam on the small lake.

The horizon over the gardens was bright blue dotted with billowing white clouds, as if Jack had taken out his brushes and painted the beautiful sky just for them.

When the friendly judge announced them husband and wife, Jack's hand gently held Elizabeth's as he gazed at her for a moment, before his face broke into a smile and their lips met.

"I love you", he said tenderly, moving his hands to cup her face. "You will always be the one for me. You are the only one I ever want to kiss."

"I love you, too", she said softly as she gently kissed his lips.

The crowd of well-wishers, made up of the judge's large family, cheered the newly married couple and passed them a glass of champagne from their elaborate picnic baskets.

"I don't know any of you here", Jack laughed. "But you have made us feel very welcomed. When I look at how Elizabeth and I just got married and what we've been doing the last few hours.. .It just . . .well it just fits. Everything about my life with her has been _interesting._ Since the first day we met in a saloon used as a classroom . . . to the dinners we've had in a jailhouse. We have made it through misunderstanding and jealousies. We have fought and we have laughed. We have worried and we have loved. . . Thankfully, more love and laughter than the other stuff, " he said and the crowd chuckled. "I am so looking forward to starting my life with Elizabeth as my wife."

As the newly married couple kissed, someone pulled out a fiddle and the sounds of joyous music filled the air. Before long, everyone was laughing and dancing in the grass under the evening sun.

When the sun was so low in sky that they could barely see the judge's grandchildren running around them to the music, the happy couple finally made their way back to the hotel.

* * *

The first time together, alone after the wedding ceremony in their room, they had both been nervous. Despite months of anticipation and longing, they had suddenly felt shy with each other. Although to tell the truth, Jack thought he had been more nervous than she.

As he had started to undress her, he had been seized with the horrible thought that maybe she wouldn't be pleased with him. He then tried so earnestly to be gentle and concerned that he began to worry that he was boring her . . . or moving too slowly . . . or too quickly . . . or too gently . . . or not gently enough. He wondered if women had any idea how much pressure was on a man.

Afterwards, as he lay with her sleeping naked body resting against him, he had lost his nervousness . He thought only about touching her again.

Slowly, he had begun to run his hands through her hair. He placed a kiss on the top of her head, breathing in the fresh smell of her shampoo. When she hadn't stirred, Jack had gently run his fingers along her arm. She slept on as he found himself getting more aroused.

It was now a challenge.

How to get her awake and just as aroused as him.

Ever so gently, he had rolled her over slightly and gotten out from underneath her, turning onto his side. She had murmured and giggled as he slowly moved kisses down her naked torso.

He moved his lips to her ear and whispered, "I want to touch you again. I absolutely love your body."

* * *

If the first time together had been interesting and new, the second time was . . . . well, it was . . . _for Pete's sake, I had no idea she would enjoy it that much! I was pretty good!,_ Jack thought with a grin as he lay against the pillow.

Elizabeth's head was on his chest, her one leg draped over his. Just thinking of the way she had arched her back towards him when he had moved against her, made him shake his head to clear the thought before he was tempted to keep her from falling asleep again.

He had finally fallen asleep wondering why it took them so many months to get married.

* * *

Two hours later, Jack was roused from his sleep by the sound of people talking as they walked down the hotel hallway outside the room door. Looking at the clock by his bedside, Jack realized that it was only 3:00 in the morning, hours before they needed to be up for breakfast.

Walking to the door, led by moonlight path on the carpet, he checked to make sure it was locked before getting a drink of water from the carafe on the dresser.

He climbed back into bed, trying to be careful not to wake her as he slipped between the sheets. _She's just so darn tempting_ , he thought with a smile as he laid his head back on the pillow. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep but images of the curves of her naked body pierced his thoughts.

It was then that he felt her. Her hair tickling his chest as she leaned over him and lightly brushed his lips with hers.

She trailed her fingers along the muscles of his body, following them with her warm mouth as she murmured how much she loved his arms, his chest, his neck, his legs.

She picked up one of his hands and placed it on her body. He knew where he wanted to touch. But when he heard her say the words. . . where she wanted him to touch her. . . his pulse quickened.

Thirty minutes later, they were breathless. They lay side by side, too hot and covered in perspiration to have their bodies touch anymore.

 _My God, no one could have prepared me for that! I've heard guys talking. And I'm not exactly naïve . . . but still . . . the way she . . . . the way she made that sound . . . . her legs around me . . . her mouth . . . my mouth . . Wow_!

 _I hope the people in the next room didn't hear us. Aw, heck. Who cares? My God, that was fantastic!,_ he thought.

Elizabeth lay exhausted on the rumpled sheet, trying to steady her breathing. With a smile, she turned her head sideways and looked at him in the moonlight. _He's so handsome._ _. . . the way he touched me . . . . his mouth on my. . . his hands . . . . My God, he's fantastic._

* * *

Four hours later, Jack quietly moved his legs over the side of the bed, trying to make as little noise as possible as he set down his feet on the plush carpet. He was grateful that the mattress hadn't creaked when he stood up, and that the carpeting would muffle the sound of his footsteps.

Careful not to trip over the shoes and clothes scattered on the floor, he made his way across the hotel room. When he came to the crumpled wedding dress, he bent down and picked up the simple layers of white fabric, now wrinkled and with grass stains.

He glanced towards the sleeping Elizabeth in the bed, who was curled up on her side, her head resting comfortably on a pillow. Jack looked at the flawless pale skin of her back which was left uncovered by the sheet which just grazed her hips. He couldn't see her face, but he hoped she had a smile on her lips as she slept.

Jack tossed the wedding dress on the nearby chair, and then reached to pick up the men's slacks and jacket from the floor. Before tossing them on top of the dress, he reached into the inside pocket of the jacket and withdrew the folded piece of paper.

He smiled as he unfolded it and read the words Elizabeth had written at her kitchen table in Hope Valley.

 _Jack Thornton_

 _Jack Thornton_

 _Jack Thornton_

Jack entered the bathroom, and ran his fingers through his rumpled hair. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, he noticed that he had already grown beard stubble since yesterday's shave.

He took the toothbrush and paste from his toiletry kit and stared at his reflection in the mirror. Rumpled hair, stubble on his chin, and there . . . on his hand . . . a simple gold wedding band. Jack sat on the cold toilet seat, shivering a little at the feeling of the porcelain against his bare skin. He tiptoed back into the bedroom and put on a pair of undershorts which he quietly grabbed from his open suitcase, and returned to the bathroom.

Sitting back down on the toilet seat lid, he began brushing his teeth, pausing as his mind went over what had transpired in the other room . _I_ _don't know how I'm ever going to leave the bed every morning and go to work if this is what married life is like!. . . . Married! I've got a wife. I've had a wife for 15 hours!_

Glancing past the slightly ajar door, Jack noticed that the bed was now empty. Quickly, he stood up, spit the toothpaste from his mouth into the sink, and went into the bedroom.

"Good morning", Jack said as he saw her sitting at the desk, wrapped in a sheet with her hair falling down her shoulders.

He had to admit he was surprised to see her sitting there with a pen in hand, writing something.

He had sort of hoped that she would still be in bed, waiting for more of . . . . well, more of him.

"Good morning", she said with a smile as she looked up at him. "I'll be right with you. I just need to finish this."

"Elizabeth, you're not writing in your journal are you?" he asked in shock.

"And what if I am?", she replied with a curious look, as she quickly moved her hands to hide what she was writing.

"You can't!"

"Why not?"

"Not about . . . about what we did. Not about last night."

"What about last night?" she asked with wrinkled brow. "Why can't I write about it? It was our wedding night. That's pretty important."

"That was personal! What we did. What I did to you. How I touched you. What you did to me."

"Didn't you like it?"

"Of course, I liked it. I loved it! It was . . . incredible. It was intense. But you can't write about that!" His eyes got wide at the thought of her putting their actions to paper.

"So, we've only been married a few hours and you're already telling me what I can and can't write about in my journal", she said with a chuckle.

"No. I mean yes. I mean, for God's sakes, Elizabeth. What if someone found your journal and started reading it? And they found out what we did?"

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "Jack, we're married. I think people can figure out what we're doing in bed."

"Not like that. I mean, come on Elizabeth. You have to admit that was pretty . . . . passionate", he said after finally coming up with the right word.

Covering her writing with her nearby bag, Elizabeth walked past Jack and into the bathroom where she picked up her toothbrush.

"Let me think about this", she said as she put some paste on her brush while trying to keep the bed sheet from slipping down her naked body, and began cleaning her teeth.

Jack stood in the doorway watching her as she spit into the sink.

Finally she turned to look at him. "You know how important my journal is to me. How I write lots of things in there. How about I make a deal with you?" she asked as she wiped her mouth with a hand towel.

"What kind of deal?"

"I won't write anything about what we do in bed _if_ . . . you take me to bed again right now."

Jack smiled. "Deal"

"And I really really _really_ liked what you did that third time. So –"

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence as Jack picked her up and gently tossed her onto the bed before covering her mouth with his.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, as they lay in contentment on the bed, Jack reached one arm over the side and picked up the crumpled bed sheet from the floor.

"I still can't believe you were going to write about this in your journal", he said in bewilderment as he threw the sheet over the bodies.

Elizabeth laughed. "Actually I wasn't. That wasn't my journal I was writing in. I was filling out the card for Room Service for our breakfast.

 **Dear Readers, If you'd like to see this story continue with more chapters, just let me know. :)**


	28. Chapter 28 - The Longest Day

**Dear Readers: Several of you mentioned that you would like to read about the various characters' reactions to the elopement. So . . . here goes. It may not be how you envisioned it, but I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Chapter 28 – The Longest Day**

"How about rock, paper, scissors?"

"That's a very mature way of handling it", Elizabeth said amusingly as she looked at Jack who was holding out his fist.

"I guess I'm not as brave as everyone thinks", Jack admitted.

"Yes, you are", Elizabeth replied warmly.

"No, I'm not. And flattering me and looking at me with doe eyes is not going to change my mind", he informed her with a knowing look and smirk.

"Darn it!" Elizabeth responded with a frown.

"I think you should handle all of it. You're used to explaining things because you're a teacher. And you do it really well", Jack suggested.

"I think _you_ should handle all of it. You're used to keeping the peace because you're a Mountie. And _you_ do it really well", Elizabeth countered with her own flattery.

"Ah, our first dispute in our marriage", Jack observed with a smile. "I'm just going to tell you to do it. And you have to," Jack informed her as if that settled the matter.

"Why do _I_ have to?" Elizabeth asked incredulously.

"Because you have to obey me. Don't you remember? Less than 24 hours ago, you promised to obey me when you said your vows. Now go obey, my little wife."

"Silly, man. You were so busy looking at me in my pretty white dress . . . by the way . . . I love the way you look at me. Anyway, you were so busy looking at me that you didn't realize that the judge omitted that word."

"What?!"

Elizabeth gave a simple shrug. "What can I say? His wife is very progressive and she doesn't let him use that line about obeying."

"Are you serious?" Jack asked skeptically.

"Yep. I would never joke about our marriage vows. They're sacred", she responded with a grin. "Which means, we're back to square one."

"Well, I'm afraid of both of them", Jack admitted as he set down his coffee cup.

"Jack, we are adults. This is _our_ life."

"Yeah, but your mom knows how to use a gun. And I'm betting that she's pretty good with it. Besides, she was already furious with me for proposing to you before meeting her, and then I arrested you. She's not going to take kindly to the fact that I swept you off and eloped. Nope. I think it's best you handle telling her."

"And your mom?"

"She doesn't need a gun to scare me", Jack replied with a laugh.

"Please", Elizabeth scoffed. "She adores you. She'd never get angry at you."

"I've got an idea. Let's settle this with a kissing contest?" Jack offered after thinking for a moment.

"A kissing contest?" Elizabeth asked in puzzlement.

"We'll kiss each other and whichever one of us is the best kisser wins. The loser has to tell the parents we got married."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Who decides the winner of the contest?"

"We'll figure that out later", Jack said with a grin as he took her by the hand and led her back to bed.

* * *

Two hours later, they had decided that Jack would telephone his parents with the news that they had gotten married while Elizabeth would send a telegram to her family.

"My mom has spent hours planning our wedding and I have to tell her to forget it all." Jack said when they got to the telegraph office. "It's not fair. You have the easy job sending a telegram, " he added, giving her an exaggerated pitiful look and hoping to get a reprieve.

"That's because the Thatchers are poor country mice without a telephone", Elizabeth replied with a smile.

"I have to wait for a trunk line for a long distance call. Why don't you send your telegram while I wait?" Jack said when they entered the building and he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Elizabeth quickly wrote out a message to her family and handed the completed form to the telegraph operator, who calculated the cost. When he told her the price, Elizabeth reached into her handbag and realized she didn't have her coin purse. She stood there perplexed for a moment wondering what to do and began searching the handbag's inside-pockets.

"Why don't you just ask your husband for the money?" the man behind the counter finally asked with an impatient sigh as he looked at the growing line of people waiting behind Elizabeth.

"Oh, I don't have a husband", Elizabeth responded as she continued searching her bag for some loose coins.

"Ahem", the man grunted.

When Elizabeth looked up at him, the man jerked his head and motioned to across the room.

Elizabeth, along with the other people in line, curiously followed the man's gaze.

"Oh my! I do have a husband! I have a husband! Of course, I do!" Elizabeth said in happy surprise when she saw Jack talking on a telephone across the room.

"If she doesn't want him, I'll take him!" a young woman volunteered, causing the people in line to snicker.

"Oh, no you won't!" Elizabeth responded quickly as she approached Jack. _He's mine!_ She thought gleefully _._

"I have to make another call." Jack held his hand over the mouthpiece as he turned to Elizabeth. "It may be awhile. Why don't you meet me back at the hotel", he suggested as he reached into his pocket and handed her some money.

 _If I tell her, she may just have a heart attack. If I don't tell her and she finds out on her own, she'll kill me. I certainly don't want to be dead on my honeymoon,_ Jack thought as he watched his smiling wife pay for the telegram and then walk out the door.

* * *

"How did it go?", Elizabeth asked Jack when he entered the hotel room and pulled her into a kiss as she sat at the desk.

"Okay. I spoke to my father", he answered as he gave her another kiss.

"And?"

"He wondered why we rushed it", Jack said unconcernedly.

"What did you tell him?"

"I blamed you", Jack replied with a smile and a shrug.

"Me?!"

"I told my father that you had bewitched me. That I couldn't imagine another day without you as my wife."

"You got that from Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice", Elizabeth replied with a snicker.

"Yeah, but my father doesn't know that. He said that he has seen how we look at each other and he totally understands. Besides, I thought you liked Mr. Darcy", Jack responded as he took off his jacket and laid it on the bed.

"I like you better", she replied with a smile . "And your mother? What did she have to say?"

"She wasn't around. So my father will have to deal with telling her."

"Pretty smart on your part not waiting until they were both there. Letting your father handle telling her", Elizabeth responded with a laugh.

"I did graduate school at the top of my class", he said with a smile and gleam in his eye.

Now that the families had been told of the wedding, Elizabeth felt a wave of relief. She and Jack could spend of the rest of the weekend relaxing, forgetting about family, and enjoy each other's company.

"But who did you make the second phone call to?" she asked over her shoulder as she briefly returned her attention to the crossword puzzle she had been looking at when Jack had entered the room.

"I just told you. My father."

"But then who did you talk to the first time?"

"Oh, that was Ashley, the maid. My parents weren't home. She says congratulations by the way and that she always liked you. Anyhow, Ashley told me where my parents are and I called and spoke to my father."

"Was he at work? You could have just waited for him to get home."

"Um. Yeah. Well, there's something I should probably tell you."

Elizabeth barely noticed that Jack was nervously pacing the floor as she tapped her pen on the desk trying to think of a word for the newspaper puzzle.

"Dad went on a business trip and my mother decided to go with him."

"That's nice. Are they in Montreal?"

"No."

"Toronto?"

"No."

"Quebec?"

"No. Not there either", Jack replied with a grimace.

Elizabeth swirled around in her seat, widened her eyes, and looked up at Jack.

"Dear Lord. Don't tell me that they're here in Calgary!", she said in alarm.

Jack looked at her and shrugged.

"In this hotel?!" she shrieked.

Jack simply nodded.

"Oh God." Elizabeth looked stricken. "Please tell me that they haven't been staying in the room next door!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later when they went downstairs to meet Jack's parents in the lobby, Elizabeth was only slightly calmer than when Jack had first told her that his parents were staying in the same hotel.

The only thing that she felt good about was that Jack told her that his parents hadn't been staying in the room next door, or even on the same floor as them _._

As they approached the older couple, Elizabeth clung tighter to Jack's arm. She hadn't considered that he would separate from her, but the moment Jack saw his mother, he casually disentangled his arm from Elizabeth's iron clasp.

Elizabeth watched as Jack moved from her side to his mother, embracing the woman who, until yesterday, had been the most important woman in his family.

"Jack", Mrs. Thornton exclaimed happily as she held tightly to her son. "It is so good to see you, son."

"It's good so see you too, mom."

 _Oh my goodness. Not this again. She's not going to let go of him._ Elizabeth thought irritably and with a tinge of jealousy as she watched Jack's mother run her hand through Jack's hair, lovingly brush non-existent lint from his shoulder, and then pull him into another hug.

* * *

"Jack has assured his father that this sudden marriage was not due to you being in the family way," Mrs. Thornton said coolly to Elizabeth as they stood face to face after Mr. Thornton had eventually managed to pry his wife's arms off of Jack.

Elizabeth wildly looked around for Jack but he and his father had moved ten feet away and were now deep in conversation.

Elizabeth realized that Mrs. Thornton was waiting for a response.

"No. NO! Certainly not. We're not in the . . . family way. We just wanted to get married. We love each other."

"I assumed you loved each other when my son proposed marriage to you. I am just surprised that the wedding took place so quickly."

"It . . .it . . . it just -", Elizabeth's voice trailed off. _I can't very well tell her that her constant plans were driving me to the point of tears_.

"Jack told his father that you had 'bewitched' him. My husband may not know Jane Austen but I do. Is that something you two like to pretend? That you're the characters in Pride and Prejudice?" Mrs. Thornton asked with a touch of disdain in her voice.

Before Elizabeth had a chance to respond, Mrs. Thornton continued.

"You do fit the roles well. You as the middle-class principled well-read heroine Elizabeth Bennett. Jack as the handsome rich eligible bachelor Mr. Darcy."

"No, it's just -."

Mrs. Thornton interrupted Elizabeth. "If I remember my Jane Austen correctly, Mr. Darcy was motherless. I hope that you're not wishfully imagining that Jack is _motherless_."

* * *

The two women stood alone in the hotel room. Assessing each other. After their brief meeting in the lobby, Jack and his father had gone to the hotel bar to continue their conversation while Mrs. Thornton had taken a terrified Elizabeth to her room for a private talk.

"So, you are married to my son. You ran off with him and deprived me of the opportunity to be there and witness my oldest son's wedding."

It was a statement; not a question. That, and the fact that she was still a little scared of Mrs. Thornton, kept Elizabeth from replying at first, and before she knew it, Mrs. Thornton was speaking again.

"And you expect to make him happy? To be a good wife? To make a home for him? To be the mother of his children? Have you been reading my letters? Studied what I've encouraged you to learn?"

"Yes. Yes . Yes. Yes. I have. Everything." Elizabeth quickly lost track of how many questions she had been asked. _Gosh, I hope I said enough yeses. I better throw in one more just to be sure!_

Mrs. Thornton looked at her strangely when a nervous Elizabeth suddenly yelled "Yes" for no apparent reason.

"Very well. Let's see what you've learned."

Before Elizabeth could interject, Mrs. Thornton began questioning her.

Elizabeth, without thinking to object, began answering the questions. She felt like a student at teacher's college during oral exams as she rattled off the answers. She kept her hands behind her back so Mrs. Thornton couldn't see her nervously wringing them and alternately crossing her fingers for good luck on occasion.

"From where does the finest lace come?"

"Brussels, Belgium."

"If you chose to ever buy Jack a watch, what is the only acceptable company from which to purchase one?"

"Cartier."

"Who makes the finest stained glass windows for a home?"

"Louis Comfort Tiffany."

"What is the best hotel to stay in if you visit New York City?"

"The Hotel Astor."

The questions went on and on. As quickly as Elizabeth answered one, Mrs. Thornton asked another. Questions on food. Wine. The arts. The test seemed to never end.

"Who is in charge of the dining room, the wine cellar, and the pantry?"

"The Butler,"

"Who is responsible for supervision of the home's cleaning staff?

"The housekeeper."

"To whom do both the butler and the housekeeper report?"

"Me. I mean you! I mean the lady of the house!" Elizabeth replied, practically stumbling over her words.

Mrs. Thornton smiled. "It will be _you_ one day. I understand that right now Jack has no fondness for a life in business and society. But one day, everything his father and I have will be his and Tom's to share. Along with their wives."

Mrs. Thornton paused for a moment and looked at Elizabeth up and down, considering her. "You learned everything."

"You sound surprised."

"It was a lot of information."

"I got it done. But honestly, I won't be needing it anytime in the near future." Elizabeth said calmly. For the first time in more than an hour, she felt confident and no longer afraid of Mrs. Thornton. Or at least not as afraid.

"Of course, you won't need it any time soon." Mrs. Thornton said dismissively.

"But then why did you say I had to learn it all _before_ the wedding?!" Elizabeth asked in bewilderment.

"Elizabeth, dear, those things are important. To some extent. But what I was really trying to determine was if you were willing to sacrifice some of your country pride and do some hard work for something that wasn't at all important to you but which you thought was important to _me_. I wanted to see if you love Jack enough to try to make his mother happy. And it is apparent that you do."

When Elizabeth just stared at her in disbelief, Mrs. Thornton continued.

"You'll have years to learn all those things which I wrote you about. And I'll be there to help you whenever you need it."

"So you accept me as your daughter in law?", Elizabeth asked incredulously.

"I would prefer that you had been raised in a higher social standing. And your wardrobe needs some work. But of course I do. Jack loves you and you love him. All I ever wanted for Jack was that he find someone who loves him as much as I do. That's all a mother really wants. For her child to be happy and loved."

"I know I'm not exactly the type of woman you hoped would marry Jack", Elizabeth said.

"Never sell yourself short, Elizabeth"

Elizabeth was beginning to smile at the compliment until Jack's mother continued her sentence.

"It's unbecoming", Mrs. Thornton added in a cool voice.

* * *

 _This isn't going so bad_ , Elizabeth thought 20 minutes later. Jack and his father had gone to look at horses while Jack's mother had insisted on spending the day getting to know her new daughter–in-law better.

As they strolled down the street, Elizabeth was surprised when a woman walking in their direction called out to Mrs. Thornton, who smiled and waved in return.

"I'd like to introduce you to my daughter-in-law, the former Miss Elizabeth Thatcher of Hope Valley. She and my son, Jack, were recently married. Elizabeth, this is Mrs. Catherine Sullivan. She lives in Calgary. Her husband is in the cattle business."

"Married already? But they just got engaged a short while ago?! When was the wedding?"

"Just this weekend. We simply did not have time to arrange a wedding with our schedules and our plans for a European trip. They are both extremely busy with their work. Elizabeth is a top rated teacher in charge of an entire school in the same large geographic area which Jack protects", Mrs. Thornton explained proudly.

"I must say I was very surprised when I read about the engagement in the society section of the paper. I always assumed that Jack would marry Lady Suzanna Beachem", the woman said inquisitively.

"Well, of course you did. Everyone did", Mrs. Thornton replied understandably

"Jack didn't", Elizabeth piped up.

The two women looked at her as if they had forgotten she was there.

"What did you say?" Mrs. Thornton asked.

"I said, Jack didn't. You said that everyone thought that Jack would marry Lady Suzanna. But you're wrong. Everyone didn't. Jack never thought he'd marry her", Elizabeth said suddenly feeling very pleased.

Mrs. Thornton gave Elizabeth a curious look as if she were seeing something for the first time. Finally, she spoke. "You are right, my dear. Jack never did."

"But I do feel sorry for poor Lady Suzanna. I'm sure she was hoping that Jack would propose to her", Mrs. Sullivan interjected with a slight shake of her head.

Mrs. Thornton turned to look at the other woman. "That's certainly not Jack's fault", she said indignantly. "As my daughter-in-law has correctly stated, Jack never intended to marry Suzanna. And I'm sure he never led her on. Personally, I don't believe in meddling in other people's lives. I am just very grateful that my son has found such an intelligent lovely wife."

Elizabeth was so surprised by Mrs. Thornton's proclamation, that she remained silent while Mrs. Thornton told her friend that she would still be hosting a spectacular party for the young couple to celebrate their wedding.

It wasn't until Elizabeth noticed that Mrs. Sullivan kept glancing downwards, that Elizabeth's smile faltered.

 _Why does that woman keep looking down and trying to see my shoes?_ Elizabeth wondered as she watched Mrs. Thornton and the other woman discuss the proposed party. _My goodness, she's trying to see if I'm wearing shoes! She's wondering if I'm really a poor barefoot country girl!_ Elizabeth realized in horror.

* * *

"Did you really mean all that?" Elizabeth asked Mrs. Thornton five minute later after they had said goodbye to the other woman and continued walking down the street.

"Of course. We have to have a reception. With dancing and a seven course dinner. A band. It will be quite fun."

"I mean the part about me?"

"I did. You're a wonderful teacher and I applaud that. But now we really must get shopping. Elizabeth, dear, your outfit is simply dreadful. I cannot have my son's wife dressed like that. It looks like something you made yourself. Come along."

* * *

"Where is my dress?" Elizabeth asked the salesgirl an hour later as returned to her dressing room at Calgary's only french ladies boutique.

Elizabeth had tried on ten dresses, modeling each one for Mrs. Thornton, who had critiqued her style, her hair, her waist, her height, and even her eye color. Finally, Mrs. Thornton had decreed that two of the dresses were perfect for Elizabeth.

"Where is my dress?" a perplexed Elizabeth asked again as she looked around the empty dressing room.

"Mrs. Thornton gave it to one of the other salesgirls to get rid of. She said we were not to let you put it on again", the girl said apologetically.

"She what?!"

"Sorry, ma'am"

"Well, get it back!" Elizabeth said irritably.

"I can't ma'am."

"Of course you can. Just go get it back! That's my dress!"

The salesgirl looked nervously over her shoulder and then lowered her voice and spoke quickly to Elizabeth. "She told us to burn it, ma'am. In the furnace."

Elizabeth stood there speechless for a moment before finding her voice.

"In the furnace?!" she exclaimed.

"We didn't burn it ma'am. Just pretended we would. It was so pretty that one of the salesgirls and I decided she should take it home for herself. If I ask the girl to give it back, Mrs. Thornton will know we didn't burn it. We may lose our jobs", the girl explained nervously.

"Good grief! The woman knows no boundaries!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Mrs. Thornton and Elizabeth, now wearing a new dress in the latest fashion, were walking past a stationary store when Elizabeth looked in the window and spied some beautiful leather bound journals on display.

"Do you mind if we go inside here?" Elizabeth asked eagerly.

Mrs. Thornton looked at the window display. "That's an excellent idea."

"I'm going to buy this appointment book for you", Mrs. Thornton informed Elizabeth as she thumbed through an elegant book filled with blank ivoried colored pages just waiting to be filled in with social events.

"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton. It's lovely. And it matches the journal I'm getting."

When the salesclerk stretched out his hand offering the shopping bag containing the appointment book to Elizabeth, Mrs. Thornton reached forth and took it from him.

"I'll take that. I need to fill it out when I get back to Hamilton and then mail it to you. I'll have to coordinate your social calendar with mine. Now come along, I want to have tea at the hotel", she informed Elizabeth.

 _My clothes. My calendar. What more will she want to take charge of?,_ Elizabeth thought as she hurried after her mother-in-law.

* * *

Elizabeth picked up her fine porcelain teacup and raised it to her mouth as the women sat at the hotel restaurant enjoying biscuits and a break from shopping.

"Have you consummated this marriage yet?" Mrs. Thornton asked as she set down her teacup on the saucer.

Elizabeth was so startled by the question that she spit out her tea. Quickly fumbling for her napkin, she accidentally knocked her teaspoon onto the floor, and, grateful for the diversion, she bent down to pick it up.

"Ouch", Elizabeth exclaimed as she put her hand to her head after bumping it on the table.

"By your blushing cheeks, I assume the answer is yes." Mrs. Thornton said with a smile when Elizabeth straightened up.

"If Jack is anything like his father, you have nothing to worry about in the bedroom. All the Thornton men are . . shall we say . . . attentive. No bride of a Thornton man has ever been disappointed."

 _I am not having this conversation with my mother-in-law!,_ Elizabeth thought in dismay, as she began blotting up the tea after now having knocked over her cup.

Elizabeth remained silent as two attentive waiters hurried over with a fresh napkin and refilled her teacup.

Mrs. Thornton, however, seemed unconcerned with the presence of the waiters.

"But if for some reason there's ever a problem . Just let me know. I'll have his father speak to him", the woman offered with a smile.

* * *

When the four Thorntons met back up at the hotel two hours later, they exchanged pleasantries and then Mrs. Thornton hugged Jack goodnight and told the newlyweds to enjoy their dinner together. As the hug lasted five seconds. And then 10 seconds. And was then nearing 35 seconds, Elizabeth noticed Mrs. Thornton getting teary eyed as she held tightly to her son.

"Why don't you join us?", Elizabeth blurted out before she could stop herself.

When a startled Jack turned to stare at Elizabeth, she just raised her eyebrows and shrugged. _What could I do? I actually feel sorry for her. She loves him so much and must miss him._

* * *

Mr. Thornton, Mrs. Thornton, Constable Thornton, and the new Mrs. Thornton sat at the most elegant restaurant in Calgary.

As Elizabeth laughed at a joke and watched the other three at the table do the same, she realized with a start that Mrs. Thornton had possibly acted teary eyed so that Elizabeth would invite them to join her and Jack at dinner.

 _My goodness, I wonder how long she would have hugged him waiting for an invitation to dinner! That woman is a sly one! If I don't stay on my toes, she's going to talk me into naming our first born daughter after her before this meal's done!_

* * *

After a delicious dinner, dessert, and after dinner drinks, the couples separated in the hotel lobby. Before heading to their rooms, Jack and Elizabeth stopped by the front desk to check for messages.

"One telegram for the lady, Sir", the desk clerk said as he handed an envelope to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth quickly opened the envelope and grimaced. "It's from my mom."

"What's she say?", Jack asked.

"Congratulations. She said congratulations. Wasn't that nice of her?", Elizabeth said with a smile plastered to her face as she folded the telegram and moved to put it in her purse

"If it says congratulations, why did you grimace?" Jack asked skeptically. "Let me see it. Hand it over, Elizabeth", he instructed as he held out his and waited for Elizabeth to hand him the paper.

Jack read the telegram and laughed.

IS YOUR HUSBAND PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE OF LETTING ME KNOW THINGS BEFORE THEY ARE GOING TO OCCUR ?!

* * *

"I think today was the longest day of my life", Elizabeth said as she sat on the bed in exhaustion.

"Sometimes I don't believe she's really your mother", she added as she leaned back and lay down, relaxing on the soft mattress.

"Why not?" Jack asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.

"You and she are so different."

"She's been raised differently than you, Elizabeth. She's had money but she's also been forced to live with certain rules of society. It's not always easy having to live in a way which is expected of you. She has her education philanthropic activities and that's considered an acceptable pastime for a lady but she was limited in what she was allowed to do growing up. I want to thank you for spending so much time with her."

"You're welcome. It really wasn't so bad. We're going to get along fine. It's just been a long day. And I missed spending it with you."

"I missed you too. But we need to get home tomorrow. Back to Hope Valley and work."

"Jack?" Elizabeth suddenly thought of something. "Where are we going to stay in Hope Valley?"

"We have two choices. My room in the back of the jailhouse or your place"

"We could do rock, paper, scissors", Elizabeth said with a laugh. "I can't believe we're married and we don't have a home."

"Actually, I wouldn't say that."

"Why not?"

"I think you're my home", Jack tenderly whispered as he leaned over her and lowered his mouth for a kiss.

 **Next: Chapter 29**


	29. Chapter 29 - Blue

**Dear Readers: As always, I hope you find humor in this chapter and it adds a little bit of pleasure to your day. :)**

 **Chapter 29 – Blue**

"What do you think of this color?" Elizabeth asked Jack when he walked in the front door of their new home. She wiped her brow and dipped her wet brush into the paint can on the table.

"It's Tiffany blue", Jack responded with a shrug before chuckling. "And you always led me to believe that you were just a simple country girl. Now the truth comes out. My wife has expensive taste", he said with a smile as he walked around the table and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a long kiss.

"I like the kiss but I have no idea what you're talking about", Elizabeth said when she broke away.

"The color is actually Robin's Egg blue", she knowingly informed him as she bent her head down and looked at the thick blue liquid.

"No, it's definitely Tiffany blue. I've never seen a robin's egg, but I've seen plenty of blue boxes from Tiffany and Company in New York. Dad brings my mom one every time he comes back from a trip there."

"He brings your mom a box?"

Jack chuckled. "He brings her a piece of jewelry or piece of silver or crystal from Tiffany's. Everything is packaged in a blue box. That's Tiffany blue", he said with certainty as he motioned towards her can of paint.

"I've never had a gift from a fancy New York store but I've seen plenty of robin's eggs. And this is Robin's Egg blue", Elizabeth declared emphatically.

Jack laughed. "Alright, my little country wife. But you might want to let Tiffany & Company know that because they have a trademark for it. And apparently your aviary friends are infringing on that trademark."

"You can't trademark a color!" Elizabeth said in disbelief.

"If you have enough money, you can do anything. Even take your wife to lunch. You ready?"

"I am. I'm starving", Elizabeth said as she took off her apron and removed the kerchief from her hair.

As Jack held open the door for her, she noticed a smirk on his face.

"I have paint on my nose, Don't I?"

Jack face broke out into a grin.

"How long were you going to let me go on like that?" she asked as she rubbed her nose clean.

"I don't know. All day?" he chuckled, earning him a swat on the arm from her.

* * *

"I told you I'd help paint this weekend", Jack reminded Elizabeth as they sat at the Café table.

"I know but I want to get it done before my mom comes. And you might get busy or delayed on your way back to town. This is our first home together. And Joe Craddock didn't really take care of the place. It needs a lot of work. I want my mom to be impressed. "

"I'll be impressed if your mom doesn't shoot me for eloping with you."

"She won't shoot you. She doesn't want her daughter to be a widow. Especially before my husband has a chance to get me an icebox", Elizabeth said with a straight face as she took a forkful of chicken salad.

Jack raised his eyebrows at her before seeing the gleam in her eye. "Well, I don't want to be a widower so don't go climbing any ladders to paint the upper parts of the walls. I'll do the rest when I come back. And the icebox is coming on the next delivery from Union City. "

"I just want it here before my mom arrives."

"It will be. Because your mom's not coming anytime soon", Jack said as took an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Elizabeth. "Which gives me an idea. How about we go see her? I've never been to Aberdeen. I'd like to see where you grew up. We can go next month."

* * *

That night, Elizabeth handed Jack a handkerchief, some clean socks, and a fresh tee-shirt to add to his other items as he packed his small leather satchel for his trip out of town the next morning.

"I'll be back in two days", he said reassuringly as he looked up and saw the sad look on her face.

"I know. It's just our first time apart since we got married. I'll miss you."

Jack set his bag down on the floor and gently pulled Elizabeth into his arms. Without a word, his mouth parted hers. As she eagerly returned his kisses, his hands roamed along her back, pulling her blouse out of the skirt. She ran her fingers through his short hair, keeping him close as she felt the heat from his mouth. They had been together every night since that had gotten married. Just thinking about him not being there tomorrow night made her body crave him even more.

As Jack's mouth moved on her body, she tilting her head back, exposed her neck to his kisses. When his lips lightly touched the soft white space between her breasts left uncovered by the V neck of her blouse, she sighed in pleasure.

He smiled at her response, and reclaimed her lips with his.

"Remember when we used to have to stop at this point", she said with a smile as she breathed heavily and broke away slightly from his kiss. Jack took the opportunity to quickly unbutton the remainder of her blouse.

"Thank goodness those days are over. Because I desperately want you right now", Jack murmured as he continued his kisses. His hands moved along her hips pressing her to him and then moving her to the bed.

Elizabeth found herself wrapping one of her legs against Jack's as they leaned down until her back was pressed against the mattress. Her hands untucked his shirt, and her fingers roamed up this back.

"I am so glad we're married", she said just before she gasped in delight as he pulled apart her blouse and then hoisted up her skirt.

* * *

Two days later, the happy feeling Jack had at being back to Hope Valley disappeared the moment he walked in the door and saw Elizabeth laying on the couch, covered in a blanket, with Abigail taking her temperature.

"She's fine. She just took a tumble and was in the cold for a bit", Abigail said reassuringly when she saw the look of concern on Jack's face.

"What happened?" Jack said as he dropped his satchel and hurried across the room to Elizabeth, who reached out her hand to him and smiled. Jack took hold of her hand and gave her a quick kiss when she tilted her face up to his.

"I'll leave you two alone", Abigail said pleasantly as she moved away. "She's suffering from a bit of exposure so keep the blanket on her."

"Exposure? In this warm weather?" Jack looked surprised.

Abigail didn't bother to explain as she continued listing Elizabeth's injuries.

"She's got some pretty bad bruising and a sprained ankle but thankfully no broken bones."

Jack looked at Elizabeth's hand and then picked up her other one and looked at each finger closely.

"The bad news is that your fingernails are blue", Jack said accusatorily with raised eyebrows.

"Maybe I have pneumonia", Elizabeth offered hopefully as she hurriedly pulled back her hands.

"Pneumonia? With symptoms in the shade of Tiffany blue?!" he said incredulously.

"Robin's Egg blue", Elizabeth blurted out before she could stop herself.

"You decided to paint by yourself", he said with a scowl.

"When Elizabeth didn't deny it but remained quiet and began concentrating on twirling a piece of her hair, Jack knew he was correct.

"I can deduce what happened. You didn't want to wait for me to come home, so you got out the ladder and painted by yourself. You fell because you're clumsy. I wasn't there to catch you and you sprained your ankle and got some bruises. "

"How'd I get exposure?" she jerked her head up and challenged him.

Jack thought for a moment before answering.

"You decided to put some ice on your ankle, but we don't have an icebox yet so you walked over to the ice-house. You didn't know that the ice-house door latch is broken and the door needs to be propped open. When you were getting the ice, the door closed behind you, locking you in. You pushed against the door, bruising your arm. Probably throwing yourself against it. And yelled until someone heard you and let you out.

 _My goodness! He's really good at his job as a Mountie! He got everything right! Well, except the part about walking to the ice-house. It was actually more of a stumbling limp. And that I was stuck in the ice-house for an hour until someone found me. There's no way I can squirm my way out of this one!_

"You can't squirm your way out of this one, Elizabeth."

 _Dear Lord! Can he read my mind?!_

"Elizabeth, say something. I can't read you mind."

 _Oh, thank goodness,_ she thought with a breath. _He really had me worried there for a minute._

"Jack, I - I. . . you got it right", she finally admitted.

"I thought I told you not to climb a ladder."

"You told me not to climb a ladder to paint the _walls_. I wasn't painting the _walls_."

"You were painting the porch ceiling, weren't you?"

 _Darn, he's good!_

When Elizabeth averted Jack's gaze and instead ran her hand smoothing wrinkles out of the bed sheet, Jack knew he was right again.

Jack sighed in exasperation. "Explain to me again why we need a blue porch ceiling?"

"It keeps away the insects and the haints, and it's relaxing, . . . and pretty like the sky", she said dreamily as she thought about the pretty blue.

"I don't even know what a haint is, it's not relaxing for me if it makes me think about my wife falling off a ladder, and we can look at the real sky if we're outside; we don't need to look at the porch ceiling."

"It still keeps the insects away", she said meekly.

When Elizabeth looked up, she noticed that Jack was still glaring at her disapprovingly. "Besides, you're not the boss of me", she added sternly.

"Oh, believe me. I know that. I've known that since the day we met", he said flatly.

"If anything, I'm a slave to _you_. I definitely lost all autonomy the first time our lips met", he said, his mouth slowly forming a smile as he looked at her.

Elizabeth felt her body go limp in a way that only Jack could make her feel. "You say the sweetest things. You are the most romantic man in the world", she added as she hurled her body into his arms.

* * *

A week later, Elizabeth carried some fresh muffins over to the jail and was disappointed to find that Jack wasn't there. Abigail had spent the afternoon helping her with the baking, and Elizabeth was especially proud of this batch.

Deciding to leave him the warm muffins and a note, she approached his desk and saw the catalog sitting on top.

The mail order catalog.

Elizabeth recognized the distinctive blue color even before she read the company name. Tiffany & Company.

 _I might as well see what it's all about_ , Elizabeth thought as she sat down in Jack's chair and began thumbing through the pages.

When Elizabeth noticed that several pages had the top corner folded over, she found that she was disappointed in Jack's choices.

 _Why did he dog-ear that page?_

 _That's not even my style._

 _I would never wear that._

 _This one looks like something his mom would wear_.

 _For Pete's sake, this isn't even my birthstone_.

 _I thought he knew me better than that._

 _He needs my help,_ Elizabeth thought determinedly as she began unfolding the dog-eared corners.

 _Now this is beautiful_!, she thought approvingly as she folded over the corner of page with a picture of a locket and a description of the intricate silver design and chain.

Making her selection, Elizabeth left the catalog exactly where she found it and walked back home with a smile on her face.

* * *

Three weeks later, Elizabeth and Jack got off the train in Aberdeen, and soon were walking into the Thatcher family home to the delightful squeals of Julie, the hugs of Mrs. Thatcher, and the cooler but still pleasant welcome embrace from Violet.

Elizabeth and Jack had eaten dinner on the train and after putting their bags in a bedroom and quickly washing up, Elizabeth was pulled by her sisters into their bedroom to discuss "private girl" things.

Much to his dismay, Jack found himself alone with Mrs. Thatcher in the parlor.

"So, you are married to my daughter. You ran off with her and deprived me of the opportunity to be there and witness my sweet daughter's wedding."

It was a statement; not a question. That, and the fact that he was slightly intimidated by Mrs. Thatcher, kept Jack from replying at first, and before he knew it, Mrs. Thatcher was speaking again

"It's late. We all should be getting to bed. We'll talk more tomorrow. We haven't had a man living in this house in years so the girls are used to walking around without always being properly attired. I'll expect you to make yourself known if you go wandering around the house in the early morning. Also, Violet sleepwalks sometimes. If you see her in her nightdress, I expect you to avert your eyes."

"Yes ma'am. No wandering. Avert my eyes."

"If you get up early, you can milk the cow."

"Uh, yes ma'am. Except I've never actually milked a cow."

"But it's no problem, Mrs. Thatcher. No problem at all. I'll be happy to do it. I love milk. I really do. How many gallons should I milk?" he added quickly when he saw her look of disapproval.

"It's not a mercantile, Jack. It's a cow. _One_ cow. You'll get what she gives you."

* * *

"Is that all you brought to wear?" Mrs. Thatcher asked in surprise when Jack walked into the kitchen early the next morning wearing a suit.

"I have another two shirts", he answered hesitantly as he looked down at his clothing wondering what was wrong with it.

"I'll find you something else to wear. You can't walk around dressed in a suit the whole time you're here", she said in disgust. "Do you want people to think my daughter married a funeral parlor director? Besides I need you up on the roof."

* * *

"Elizabeth, your mom wants me to fix the roof", Jack remarked when Elizabeth came in the kitchen and Mrs. Thatcher left to go check on the other girls. "I've never fixed a roof before. I've never even been on a roof before!"

"I'm sure you can figure it out", Elizabeth said without worry as she put butter on her bread. "You're a man."

"We're not born with hammers in our hands", he countered.

"But you're a Mountie", she said simply as if that position, along with being a man, qualified him to do any manner of odd jobs.

"I handle law enforcement and minor medical care and sometimes ride a horse. When was the last time you saw me riding my horse on a roof performing Mountie duties?" he asked mockingly.

"You must have built forts or a treehouse when you were a kid", Elizabeth argued.

"We did. And then the handyman always came and fixed them before mother let us play in them."

"But you helped build my school", she reminded him.

"The walls, yes. The floor, yes. The steps, yes. But not the roof."

"A roof's just like a floor. Only up higher. And outside, not inside. And with shingles" Elizabeth explained dismissively.

Jack looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

Elizabeth looked at him with her adoring eyes. "I have faith in you", she said confidently.

* * *

When the clerk at the home supply store informed Jack that a load of shingles was expected to arrive in 20 minutes on the next train, it was decided that Jack would explore the town while Elizabeth visited her friend, Sally, who had recently had a baby.

After introductions, Jack left Elizabeth at Sally's house and walked through the town imagining his wife growing up here. It was bigger than Hope Valley with many more businesses and houses, but still far smaller than a city like Hamilton.

Jack was crossing the street, when a boy of about eight years old approached him.

"Are you Miss Thatcher's new husband?"

"I am."

"You can use my family's outhouse if you want. It's the house at the end of the dirt lane to the right. About half a mile up ahead."

Jack stared curiously at the boy who quickly turned and ran off.

 _That was odd._

Five minutes later, as Jack was sitting on the bench in front of the train depot reading the paper, two boys playing in the street stopped tossing their ball and ran up to him.

"You're the man that married Elizabeth Thatcher, aren't you?"

"I am."

"We're Bill and Lou Houser. That's our family restaurant", the taller of the boys said as he pointed behind him. "There's a bathroom in the back. With real plumbing if you want to use it."

"I'm fine. Thank you. But I'll keep that in mind", Jack said with a furrowed brow.

"If you don't need to use it now, we can give you a drink at the restaurant. For free", the smaller of the boys offered eagerly. "Then you can use the bathroom."

"No thanks, boys", he said as he noticed disappointed looks on the boy's faces before they walked away.

 _Why do the children keep offering to let me use their toilets?_ _Maybe this is some strange overly hospitable custom for this town_ , Jack thought in bewilderment.

Jack folded up his paper, looked at his watch, and decided to stretch his legs for five minutes until the train was unloaded.

As he walked down Main Street, Jack got the sensation that he was being followed so he looked in the reflection of the plate glass windows he passed.

Sure enough, he had collected a following of eight or nine children.

The boys and girls were whispering behind him as they stayed five feet back.

When Jack stopped, they stopped.

When Jack walked, they walked.

Finally, when a little girl of about six years old ran up and offered him a drink of water, Jack had enough.

"All right kids. What's going on?" he asked sternly as he turned around and faced the children who all stopped quickly, with some bumping into the backs of others.

"Fess up", Jack ordered.

The crowd of children stood silently looking at him, until a curly haired boy was pushed forward by one of the other children.

"Go ahead", a girl encouraged the boy.

"Tell him what we heard" another child said quietly.

"Ask him if it's true", the other children whispered loudly to the boy.

"Ask me what?" Jack inquired as he now smiled. Whatever these children were thinking, it clearly had them totally occupied. _They probably want to know what it's like to be a Mountie._

"We was just wondering –"

"Go ahead. What were you wondering?" Jack said good naturedly when the boy paused.

 _I'll make Mountie life sound exciting and dangerous,_ he thought, feeling proud of his profession.

"Our Pa's were all talking about you marrying one of the Thatcher ladies. They said you're rich. Really rich. We overheard my Pa say that you got so much money that when you piss, you probably piss out real gold. . . . . We want to see. . . . Pleaseee."

* * *

Six hours later, an exhausted Jack, wearing a pair of borrowed overalls, sat at the kitchen table and accepted a glass of lemonade from Mrs. Thatcher.

All and all, he considered it to have been a successful day. Jack had averted his eyes when Julie had walked past him in her nightdress that morning. Although since she wasn't the one who had a tendency to sleepwalk, he suspected that she had done it on purpose. He had milked the cow. He had met the neighbors and some of Elizabeth's friends in town. He had fixed the roof without managing to fall and break his neck. And he had even hammered a few loose floor boards, unstuck a window, and oiled door hinges. He had disappointed several children but there was nothing he could do about that.

 _Mrs. Thatcher must approve of me now_ , he thought happily as Elizabeth's mother put a plate of cookies on the table.

Mrs. Thatcher pulled out a chair and sat down at the table across from Jack. "We need to talk, son."

Jack looked up at his mother-in-law and suddenly wished that Elizabeth hadn't decided to go outside and pick some vegetables from the garden.

"Elizabeth worked very hard to get to where she is. A teacher. Standing on her own two feet. I hope that now that you're married, you are protecting her and her career in all possible ways."

Jack looked at Mrs. Thatcher with some confusion. _Of course, I'll always protect her. Why would her mother even question that? Does she think I'm some spoiled city boy that can't keep Elizabeth safe. I'm a Mountie for Pete's sakes. Oh man, she's thinking about the fall off the ladder,_ he realized before speaking.

"Mrs. Thatcher, I walk Elizabeth to school most mornings. But it's a very safe town. We have a gun in the house. Not that we need it. I will always protect her. If I'm out of town overnight, we have a dog. . . or she can stay with her friend Abigail. Elizabeth's a little clumsy but . . . well, . . . I try to catch her when I can", he said earnestly.

"Let me rephrase my concerns. As I said, Jack, Elizabeth has worked very hard to be an independent woman capable of supporting herself and doing something she loves. I hope that nothing you do will get in the way of that before she has a chance to enjoy success as a teacher."

"Mrs. Thatcher, I don't have any plans to have Elizabeth stop teaching. I can assure you of that."

"Can you? You can assure me of that? You have _no_ plans to keep her from teaching?"

"No ma'am. I like her teaching. As I said, I walk her to school most mornings. I do my paperwork in the evenings while she grades her students' work. If I get transferred, I'll ask for an assignment to a place where she can teach."

"You're not doing _anything_ that may interfere with her teaching?", Mrs. Thatcher said with raised eyebrows and a condescending voice.

"No, ma'am ." Jack began to squirm a little and ran his hand inside his collar, which suddenly felt like it was strangling him. _What is she getting at?_

" _Nothing_ that may interfere with her teaching?" Mrs. Thatcher asked again.

"No, ma'am" Jack repeated as he looked towards the door hoping Elizabeth would come in any second.

"Are you daft, son?" Mrs. Thatcher asked as she set down her glass.

"Excuse me, ma'am?", Jack said as he dropped a cookie before it made it to his mouth.

"Are you purposely pretending to be thick headed or do you really not grasp what I'm asking you?"

"I'm not pretending!" Jack said in bewilderment.

Mrs. Thatcher sighed deeply. "You are a young man. Elizabeth is a young woman. You are in love. You are married. Do I need to continue?"

When Jack just sat there in confusion, Mrs. Thatcher continued.

"Let me use some basic country language. I don't want you breeding like rabbits so that Elizabeth has to stop teaching to stay home and take care of all your little offspring bunnies.

* * *

Two weeks later, Jack and Elizabeth sat in the rockers on their front porch, enjoying the evening breeze. Elizabeth chuckled as she read the letter from her mother.

"What' so funny?"

"Ma says that it rained the day after we left and the roof didn't leak one drop. She says we'll keep you in the family."

"Well that's good to hear. I was worried for a moment", he said with a straight face.

"Hush. You know I'm never letting you go", Elizabeth replied with a smile. "Especially since you finished painting the porch ceiling. Isn't it nice?" Elizabeth asked as she looked up at the pretty blue color.

Jack glanced up. "It is. I think we may need to paint the porch ceiling to the Mountie office."

"To your office? Why? We never sit over there. You don't even have a chair on the porch."

"I did some research and found out that "haint " thing you were talking about are ghosts. You're right, the blue color's supposed to keep them away. I think one's been haunting the Mountie office."

"Why would you think that?" exclaimed Elizabeth in surprise.

"My mom's birthday is coming up and I decided to order her something from Tiffany & Company. I sent away for one of their catalogs and when it came, I dog-eared a couple of the pages of things she might like. Strangest thing happened. When I went back, all those pages I had dog-eared had been changed," Jack said in deadpan voice. "Any thoughts?"

"Anything's possible. I really have no idea.", Elizabeth said as she bit her lip and pretended to be interested in Rip, who was scratching himself. _How was I supposed to know he was picking a gift for his mother!_

"What did you end up getting her?" Elizabeth asked.

"A pair of gold earrings with her birthstone. She already has a bracelet that will match. "

"Oh, those were actually nice—", Elizabeth's voice trailed off. _Darn it! Now he'll figure out that I saw the catalog._

"Who knew ghosts were so interested in fancy jewelry?" Jack said with a gleam in his eye as he stood up. "I'll get us some more lemonade."

* * *

Five minutes later, Jack walked back onto the porch with a pitcher of lemonade. As he refilled Elizabeth's glass, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box which he handed to Elizabeth.

"Jack", Elizabeth exclaimed quietly as she took the distinctively blue box from him and lifted the lid.

"A little bird, perhaps one of your friendly robins, told me you might like this", he said with a smile as she lifted the silver chain from the box and stared adoringly at the locket.

 _ **Up next: Chapter 30**_

 **Dear Readers: For this chapter, I used dialogue from several of the TV show episodes ( in my own reversed and unique way of course.** **)**

 **I get my ideas from lots of places, to include the reviews left by you. Sometimes a single word that a reviewer writes takes my mind on a wild journey. Thanks!**


	30. Chapter 30- Freedom of the Press

**Chapter 30 – Freedom of the Press**

Elizabeth struggled with the contraption of wet fabric and thin metal poles before throwing it in the room's corner in frustration.

"My umbrella's broken!" she whined as she pushed her wet curls out of her face and looked down at her damp clothes.

"I'm sorry", Jack said as he looked up from the paperwork on his desk.

He smiled at her as a puddle of water formed around her dripping clothes.

"But you are messing up my wood floors. I'm going to have to insist that you take all that water back outside with you."

"Very funny", Elizabeth responded irritably. "I've had a horrible day. The students were stuck inside for recess because of the rain. I stepped in a puddle. And I'm all wet", she grumbled.

"Come here. I'll make all your troubles disappear."

"Jack, you can't fix everything by kissing me."

"I was hoping to do a whole lot more than kissing", he responded suggestively as he stood up from his desk chair and approached Elizabeth.

"We can't do a whole lot more because we're in the middle of the jailhouse", she said with raised eyebrows.

"Well, then maybe this will cheer you up", he said with smirk as he handed her an envelope.

"It's from Canadian Ladies Journal!" Elizabeth shrieked when she took the envelope and noticed the return address in the upper left hand corner.

"I know", he said with smile. "What I don't know is why that's so exciting."

"I sent them one of my short stories", Elizabeth said without bothering to look at Jack as she hurriedly tore open the envelope and pulled out the single sheet of paper.

"They want to do a story on me!" she exclaimed in excitement before repeating the statement in confusion. "They want to do a story on _me_?"

"A story _on_ you? Why?"

"It doesn't really say." Elizabeth furrowed her brow as she scanned the paper. "It just says that they want to send someone to interview me and they think I would make for an interesting story for their magazine. I guess because I'm a female teacher out west and aspiring writer! I sent them a short story and told them a little bit about myself in a cover letter. That my stories are based on my life here."

Elizabeth let out a happy sigh as she sat her wet body down in Jack's chair and looked up at him.

"I'm going to be in a magazine. And they'll probably want to publish one of my stories. I mean, if they're going to write about me, they'll want one of my stories to go with the feature!"

"I don't know anything about the magazine business, but I guess that makes sense. They must have really liked your short story to send someone all the way out here."

"Well, maybe they want to publish a couple of them!" Elizabeth said excitedly.

* * *

"So which story did you send them? I've read all of them, haven't I?" Jack asked that evening as they sat at the table in the row house.

"Yep. You have. It had Mountie Theodore, your character, in it," Elizabeth responded as she took a bite of her dinner. "I'm not sure how many they'll want. But I'm going to write some more. To give them lots of possibilities."

Quickly taking a gulp of her drink, Elizabeth laid her napkin back on the table and stood up.

"Can you clean up? I want to write down some ideas right now before I forget. The woman interviewing me will be here in a week."

Elizabeth moved away from the table and hurried over to her desk without waiting for a response from Jack.

"You know I'm leaving tomorrow, right?" Jack reminded Elizabeth as he carried their plates to the sink.

"Uh, huh", Elizabeth answered distractedly as she put a piece of paper into the 1910 Underwood Standard Model No. 5 typewriter which Jack had given her. _Gosh, I love this thing!_

* * *

"How about coming to bed with me?" Jack asked as he stood in the bedroom doorway and called out to Elizabeth two hours later.

"I'll be in in a minute", Elizabeth said over her shoulder as she continued to peck away at the keys on the typewriter.

Jack dejectedly shook his head and crawled into bed. _Why did I ever buy her that thing?_

By the time, Elizabeth came to bed an hour later, Jack was sound asleep.

* * *

Three days later, Jack was filthy and tired as he climbed up the wooden steps to their home.

After spending the days traveling through the countryside, he was looking forward to taking a nice bath, eating a warm home cooked meal, and going to bed. With his wife.

"Jack! You're back!" Elizabeth called out pleasantly as she looked up from the typewriter.

"Ouch", Jack said after he walked over to her and was rewarded with a poke in the head as he leaned in for a kiss.

"Sorry", Elizabeth said with a smile as she removed the pencil from behind her ear and set it down on top of the thesaurus on her desk.

Jack looked at the desk and noticed it was piled high with a thesaurus, a dictionary, his book on migration patterns of waterfowl, two maps, and several crumpled up pieces of paper with typed words scribbled out.

"I'm not even going to ask what you've been up to while I've been gone", he said with a laugh.

"Come here, my handsome Mountie", she added as she pulled him in for another kiss.

Without another word, Jack's mouth was on hers and Elizabeth wrapped her arms around his neck. As his kisses became deeper and more zealous, Elizabeth pulled away.

"Bath. Shave. Clean clothes. In that order. Then dinner. . . . _Then bed_ ", she informed him as she gently pushed him away and stood up. "I'll get dinner started."

"Why don't we reverse the order and start with bed first?", he asked hopefully.

"Only if you want to be in there alone", she countered with raised eyebrows. "Bath. Shave. Now."

* * *

"I'm starving. What are you making?" a clean and freshly shaven Jack asked as he entered the kitchen twenty five minutes later and looked at the pot on the stove.

In one hand, Elizabeth was holding a long wooden spoon which she was absent-mindedly stirring in a pot. In her other hand, she held a pencil, which she was using to mark up the sheets of paper as she leaned over the counter.

"Stew. It'll be ready ten minutes", Elizabeth answered as she kept her eyes focused on scanning her type-written words.

"You forgot to light the fire", Jack observed.

"Oh, darn!" Elizabeth responded in dismay as she looked at lack of flame and put her finger in the pot, feeling the cold uncooked stew. "I knew I was forgetting something."

* * *

An hour later, Elizabeth slipped out of her thin robe, pulled back the bed covers, and climbed in between the sheets.

"I'm sorry about dinner . . . and the laundry, Jack. I'll do the laundry first thing tomorrow."

"You have school first thing tomorrow", he reminded her with a smile.

"I'll get up early. At 4 o'clock", she said with determination.

"You hate getting up early."

"I promise. I'll make sure you have clean clothes tomorrow. I'll do some things in the morning and send the rest over to Mrs. Miller. I know you've had a really hard last couple days yourself. I've just been really preoccupied with my writing I forgot about dropping off the laundry."

"Dinner turned out fine. I always like a good quick sandwich. And I washed some socks and other stuff in the sink tonight, so I'm okay for tomorrow morning."

"I'm sorry. I should have done it for you. I know how comfortable your life was before we got married. With servants when you were growing up, and then Mrs. Miller doing your laundry. All I had to do was remember to bring it over to her and I forgot even that."

"Actually, you also had to remember to light the stove to make dinner", he reminded her teasingly. " Besides maybe my life before was too comfortable. I didn't mind washing my things tonight. It's part of the reason why I moved to Hope Valley. To do things for myself. But I will be happy when this journalist, Lulu whatever, gets here and you can stop writing so much"

"Lulu Nestor. That's her name. I've read some of her stuff. It's usually pretty dramatic but she's good. And it's pretty impressive that she has a job working for the magazine. It's hard for a female writer to be taken serious so I'm glad it's a woman the magazine sent. We probably have a lot in common. With both of us being writers. . . . But now that you're back, you're my number one priority", she said as reached across the bed and kissed him tenderly.

* * *

"What are you doing? I thought you were finished with your stories." Jack asked as he walked downstairs and saw Elizabeth sitting at the table two days later.

"Making a list of words to describe me. If this reporter wants to know what I'm like, I want you to have some adjectives to describe me. So far, I've got hard-working. Dedicated. Independent. Educated."

"Egotistical. Stubborn. Terrible cook. Forgetful" Jack added with a smirk.

"Hush! She'll be here any minute."

"She probably won't even know I'm here. She'll be so enthralled with you and your stories she'll not even realize that you're married."

"I'm getting so excited!" Elizabeth said gleefully as she looked at Jack. "I'm going to be published in a major magazine! I may become a famous writer!"

The knock on the door caused Elizabeth to jump in surprise. Taking a deep breath, she quickly tidied up the pages of stories in her hand, and turned to Jack.

"Here goes!"

* * *

The next month dragged by as Elizabeth anxiously awaited the magazine's next publication.

Lulu Nestor, who had been energetic and had kept Elizabeth on her toes from the moment she stepped off the stage coach, had spent only a day in Hope Valley, interviewing Elizabeth and Jack, and taking in the sites, which consisted of the abandoned coal mine, the new school house, and not much more.

Elizabeth had given the attractive young woman eight short stories for possible publication along with the interview of her. To her dismay, the journalist hadn't told her which story would be published, or even if a story would be published with the feature on Elizabeth.

"If I'm lucky and they publish one and it gets a good response, maybe they'll want more! . . . It's just a dream of mine", she said to Jack as they lay in bed at night after they had said their goodbyes to Lulu.

Now, as the month was coming to an end, Elizabeth felt herself getting more and more anxious.

* * *

Elizabeth squealed in delight when Jack walked in the front door with the magazine, still contained in its brown paper sleeve, in his hand and a smile on his face.

"Gimme! Gimme!" she said excitedly as she took it from him and sat down, pulled off the paper sleeve, scanned the index, and began thumbing through the pages.

"Page 34. . .

Page 34 . . .

Page 34 . . . Here it is!"

Elizabeth began reading aloud but almost immediately her smiled faded after reading the title to the article. "' _Rags to Riches – Every woman's dream to becoming a Wife.'_ I don't understand the title", she said as she glanced up at Jack with a perplexed look on her face.

"It does seem kind of strange. Maybe it's meant to be ironic or something", Jack offered hopefully. "Because you didn't come to Hope Valley to get married."

"I suppose you're right", she said happily and then began reading it aloud again.

 _ **Rags to Riches – Every woman's dream to becoming a Wife**_

 _ **By Lulu Nestor**_

 **She was once a barefoot illiterate child living in the small town of Aberdeen in Saskatchewan**. **So how did Elizabeth Thornton nee Thatcher, a simple school teacher, marry one of Canadians most eligible handsome bachelors and become the newest member of elite Thornton family of Hamilton, Ontario?**

 **Now married to the eldest son of Canada's shipping magnate, her story gives hope to every young lady that she too can achieve her dreams.**

 **Over a decade ago, Elizabeth's father, a man said to be full of integrity but low on cash, died when she was just 10 years old.**

 **One can only imagine what it must have been like for the intelligent but plain girl to grow up feeling like someone took something from her. Like there was a giant hole inside of her. But one day, that feeling went away when she found a different kind of love. The void left by her father's sudden unexpected death was finally filled when she married handsome and wealthy Jack Thornton.**

 **To learn how Elizabeth overcame obstacles, one most first look to her upbringing.**

 **After her father's tragic demise, Elizabeth was raised by her single mother, Grace Thatcher, a hard brash woman, who is a survivor. By all accounts it wasn't easy for Mrs. Thatcher having her daughters so young, raising them by herself, and holding down a job.**

 **Elizabeth, a small girl for her age, was forced to work odd jobs and long hours, taking in sewing from neighbors and watching children to help support the family through rough times.**

"I can't read it. I can't read it anymore! She says I was a small plain simple girl with a void in my life who needed a husband! This has nothing to do with my stories!" Elizabeth wailed as she looked anxiously at Jack.

"Keep reading. Maybe it gets better. She is probably starting out that way to grab the readers' attention", Jack encouraged. _I certainly hope it gets better!_

Elizabeth frowned but began reading again.

 **For a time, Elizabeth was briefly engaged to marry handsome charismatic cowboy and star of the rodeo circuit, Clint Blackthorn, but the engagement was not to last. Elizabeth was said to be heartbroken when Mr. Blackthorn ended the engagement after just a few short months.**

" **I was looking for more adventure in my life. And I just didn't want to take her with me. Besides, she's a terrible cook", Mr. Blackthorn stated when asked why he ended the engagement.**

"Why the heck did she have to call Clint handsome and charismatic?" Jack interrupted with a frown.

"That's what bothers you?! This woman is performing a character assassination of me and you're bothered that she thinks Clint is handsome and charismatic?!"

"Sorry", Jack said meekly. "How did she even know about him?"

"She must have talked to people when she was exploring the town and at the saloon. I only left her alone for a few minutes!"

"Keep reading", Jack instructed as he nodded to the magazine.

 **Devastated by the broken engagement, Elizabeth earnestly concentrated on her schoolwork.**

 **Most women would agree that Elizabeth would have been better off concentrating on more female pursuits, such as cooking, cleaning, and learning the art of conversation and attracting suitors. However, renowned psychiatrist, Dr. M. Lee Johnson, who did not personally interview Elizabeth but was informed of her history, stated that Elizabeth's reaction was not entirely unheard in his profession.**

"A psychiatrist?! She asked a psychiatrist about me?!"

 _Oh dear. This is going to be interesting,_ Jack thought with dread as Elizabeth turned her attention back to the magazine.

" **When a young lady has her hopes dashed, she may see herself as unworthy. Realizing that she may never find that perfect suitor, she will settle for the unenviable life of an unmarried working woman. A spinster. Some women at a certain age even get desperate."**

 **"Notably, Elizabeth did take a brief interest in raising a baby goat. Perhaps as a substitute for the child she never thought she would have. However, even nurturing the animal left her unfilled and she decided to become a teacher."**

 **When asked about her choice to enter the teaching profession, Dr. Johnson stated that he was not surprised.**

 **"She was rejected by her fiancé when he broke off the engagement to fulfill his own dreams. This early turmoil scarred her for life and left her with a desire to never be rejected again. A broken engagement can do that. We men would say that someone who has that type of fear is "gun shy".**

"Gun shy? I'll show him gun shy!" Elizabeth muttered angrily before continuin **g.**

 **The teaching profession was a perfect fit for Elizabeth. As most female teachers are prohibited from marrying, she had the perfect excuse as to why she would be a spinster. It's similar in some ways to why a man may choose to be a Mountie, another profession which frowns on marriage.**

 **"These types of professions may attract individuals who thrive on adventure and helping others, as in the case of altruistic Jack Thornton, but they also attract those that are afraid of personal commitment and rejection, perhaps such as Elizabeth", explained Dr. Johnson.**

 **Elizabeth's dreams of going to teacher's college may never have been realized had she not been granted a scholarship by none other than her future husband's company, J and T Crates. Like something out of fairy tale, Jack Thornton's company came to her rescue with the much needed money to pay her tuition.**

"Where did she get all her information?! I never told anyone about the Crate company and the scholarship!" Jack said in shock.

"I don't know. I mentioned a little about my background but she must have done some kind of investigation!"

Elizabeth warily began reading again.

" **I still remember the day that she got that scholarship. She came running to the schoolhouse, all the way from her home, screaming in delight** ", **recalls Miss Patricia Pines, Elizabeth's beloved childhood teacher.**

 **"I always had high hopes for her. And we were quite close for a while. I was surprised that I wasn't invited to the wedding", added Miss Pines sadly.**

"For goodness sakes! We didn't invite anyone to the wedding!"

"I know. I know. But your _beloved_ teacher didn't know that. Now keep reading."

 **And then, after graduating from teachers' college, we have the most remarkable aspect of Elizabeth's life. At a time when most women her age are worried about finding a suitable husband, Elizabeth was awaiting her first assignment as a teacher.**

 **It could only have been the work of a fairy god mother.**

 **How else do you explain the good fortune of Elizabeth to have her assignment to teach in Hamilton changed at the last minute, sending her to the small quaint town of Coal Valley, the very town where a charming Jack Thornton was stationed.**

"A fairy god mother?! It was your over protective, over involved mother!" Elizabeth yelled.

Jack cringed at Elizabeth's voice and shrugged helplessly.

 **Jack, an attractive man of wealth, upper class, and the finest education, was captivated by the plain simple awkward girl.**

 **A girl who started her first teaching assignment by accidentally burning down the teacherage.**

 **A girl who seemed perfectly at home working in a saloon and living with the recently widowed wife of the foreman of town's coalmine.**

"For Pete's sake, she makes me sound like a clumsy harlot!"

"It doesn't sound good", Jack admitted with a grimace.

" **We had requested a mature, experienced teacher, someone who would not shrink from the challenges that Coal Valley presents. But they sent us Elizabeth", said Abigail Stanton, owner of the town's only café, where Elizabeth waitressed briefly.**

 **"And Jack arrived the same week. When my husband, Noah, and I first moved to Coal Valley with our son, Peter, we were so young. We didn't know anything. But we found our way, and I knew Jack would find his way, too. He immediately took to the town and the people just love him", Mrs. Stanton remarked.**

 **With surprising ease, Jack Thornton was able to transition from a life of luxury to a life of honorable and dedicated service to his country. By all accounts, handsome Jack has always been a likable friendly sort. For years, the society pages have been filled with his name alongside those of socialites such as his childhood friend, the lovely and beautiful Lady Suzanna Beachem.**

"They mentioned her?! In an article on me! Why did they mention her?!" Elizabeth yelled angrily.

"Well, she is one of my childhood friends. And we did used to go to a lot of functions together" Jack offered by way of explanation.

"This is an article on _ME!_ "

Elizabeth glared at Jack and then began reading again.

 **And in his new home, good-looking Jack quickly found Elizabeth. The girl with a heart of gold. Going against his family's wishes for a more suitable and practical match, Jack chose to follow his own heart instead of his head.**

 **It can only be imagined the number of young ladies across Canada who wept into their handkerchiefs when they read in the newspaper of handsome Jack's engagement and marriage. Their dreams dashed by the simple school teacher.**

"For Pete's sake! How many times is she going to call you handsome?!" Elizabeth asked in exasperation.

"Don't you think I'm handsome?" Jack asked with raised eyebrows.

"I'm your wife. I'm allowed to think it! But I certainly don't write about it all the time", she replied angrily.

"Not even in your journal?" he teased.

"Now that I think about it, she was staring at me a lot. Maybe I shouldn't have been wearing my uniform. Ladies seem to like it. A lot ", he added with a shrug.

"Well, stop wearing it!" Elizabeth said crossly as she returned to the magazine article and began reading again.

 **Against all odds, the couple has found true love.**

 **How does a young woman of modest means get to a proper station in life? Through dedication to perfecting herself, and then finding the perfect mate.**

 **Elizabeth, now Mrs. Jack Thornton, no longer has to work as a school teacher, but she has chosen to show her independence and remain in her position. One can hope that they are soon blessed with little Thorntons to fulfill her days.**

 **When not teaching and working on being a good wife and housekeeper, Elizabeth dabbles in her hobby of writing stories. But the best story has already been written.**

 **Her marriage to Jack.**

 **A true Cinderella story.**

Elizabeth looked up from the magazine and stared in shock at Jack.

Jack, eyed her warily, before opening his mouth.

"Now Elizabeth, it's just a stupid magazine article", he said as he stood up and tried to gently pry the magazine from her hands where she was tightly grasping it.

"A very poorly written article in a magazine that no one reads", he added as he finally yanked the magazine away.

"Everyone reads it! It's Canadian Ladies Journal!"

"I don't understand", she wailed in confusion. "I thought they were doing a story on me as a teacher and writer."

"They did mention you were a teacher and a writer", Jack said encouragingly.

"I should have never used my real name when I submitted the story. I should have written under a pseudonym", Elizabeth said with a sigh. "This article makes me out to be a pathetic lonely woman who needed to be rescued by you."

"It does make me look pretty good", Jack agreed pleasantly before Elizabeth glared at him.

"Obviously she's a terrible journalist", he added quickly.

"She's a very popular journalist. She gets published", Elizabeth said sadly. "She knows what people want to read."

"Do you want me to get her fired?" Jack offered helpfully.

"How can you get her fired?" Elizabeth asked scornfully.

"I'll buy the magazine company. I'll fire her. I'll fire her editor. I'll have them tarred and feathered and run out of town", he said with a straight-face, despite the humor creeping into his voice.

"I'll break all her ink pens in half so she can never write again", he added earnestly.

"She uses a typewriter" Elizabeth said disgruntledly.

"Hmm, I can't break that in half. . . . Even handsome wealthy Jack Thornton can't do that. Oh well", Jack said with a shrug and a smile. "I guess we'll just have to forget about her. We'll pretend she never existed."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Elizabeth asked sadly as Jack walked across the room with the magazine in his hand.

Jack opened up the stove door and pushed the magazine onto the wood pile.

"I have a few suggestions", he said as he began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Jack, you can't fix all my problems with –"

 _Oh my. Maybe he can_ , she thought in surprise as a shirtless Jack approached her and began moving his hands and mouth on her body.

 _I actually think he can!_

 **Dear Readers: I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Dear fanfiction writers: This one's dedicated to us! Just like Elizabeth, I think many of us have probably spent time ignoring household tasks to write and hope to one day be published authors!**


	31. Chapter 31 - The Button Story

**Chapter 31 - The Button Story**

It had been four weeks since Lulu Nestor's article on Elizabeth had been published, and Elizabeth had gotten over the embarrassment, anger, and frustration.

She had also stopped writing.

It was as if the published article had killed any motivation she once had to put her own thoughts down on paper. Instead of typing stories or writing in her journal, she busied herself with schoolwork, taking care of the home, and a horrible attempt at knitting a sweater.

"What did your mother write?" Elizabeth asked as she glanced from the dishes she was washing to Jack who was reading the letter he had received that morning.

"The weather is beautiful. Tom and father are both doing well. She went to a ladies luncheon at the club two weeks ago. She's hiring a new landscaper," Jack answered. "Oh, and she had Lulu Nestor to the house for tea last week", he added casually.

"She what?! After that horrible article that woman wrote about me?!"

"Calm down." Jack responded steadily as he looked at Elizabeth who had stopped washing dishes and was staring at him in shock. "If mother invited the woman to tea, she had a perfectly good reason."

"So they could humiliate me together!"

"That's not it", Jack said with a chuckle. "Here, see for yourself."

Elizabeth dried her hands on the dishtowel and grabbed the sheet of paper from Jack's outstretched hand.

. . . . _I had Lulu Nestor for tea last on Tuesday. I daresay she was nothing like I expected after I had read that rather interesting article she wrote for Canadian Ladies Journal regarding Elizabeth. She was quite charming and we had a wonderful time, although I did refuse to introduce her to Tom despite her obvious interest in meeting him. (I certainly can't have both my sons marry beneath us.) She offered to put in a good word regarding Elizabeth's little stories to publishers she knows, but I informed her that Elizabeth does not need her help. Elizabeth is a Thornton now and a Thornton is quite capable of standing on one's on feet. That being said, I believe that after our tea, Miss Nestor will think twice about writing anything that will possibly disparage the family name. I may have hinted that if Miss Nestor wants to continue to work as a journalist in North America, it would behoove her to not get on my bad side. I also happened to mention in passing that Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and I attend several of the same social functions. (Although I shuddered to mention that dreadful woman's name in my home, it seemed to be quite effective and I certainly didn't tell Miss Nestor what I really think of Mr. Hearst's wife. Honestly, for a man who runs the largest newspaper publication business in North American, you would think Mr. Hearst could have had a more suitable spouse, but I digress. ) . . . . . ._

 _Give my best to Elizabeth._

 _Love, Mom_

 _"_ My mom has your back" _J_ ack informed Elizabeth with a smile when he saw her surprised face as she finished reading the letter.

"She does. She really considers me family", Elizabeth said in bewilderment.

* * *

The letter from Lulu Nestor arrived the next day. At first, Elizabeth had been afraid to open the envelope. She had spewed out enough bad words about the journalist in the last few weeks that she was sure that somehow Lulu must have heard them even from hundreds of miles away. Elizabeth was curious, however, if Lulu would mention her recent encounter with Mrs. Thornton, and why the woman was even writing to her in the first place.

"What if it's something horrible that the vile woman has come up with? Maybe she wants to write another article on me. A sequel to our 'fairytale' relationship," Elizabeth said in disgust.

"Read it", Jack encouraged her as he watched expectantly. Hoping it was good news. Dreading that it wasn't. Curious as to what the letter said.

Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Elizabeth tore open the envelope and pulled out a single sheet of paper.

 _Dear Elizabeth,_

 _I hope you have had an opportunity to read my wonderful article about you. The publisher is quite pleased with the increased circulation it seemed to generate. Thank you again for being so gracious when I visited Hope Valley._

 _I recently had a lovely time having tea with your mother-in-law. She was a wonderful hostess, although she did refuse to introduce me to her son, Tom. (Perhaps you can arrange an introduction some time; I've heard Tom's quite charming.) Mrs. Thornton also politely refused my offer to help you with your writing._

 _What I didn't tell Mrs. Thornton is that prior to meeting her, I had already forwarded one of your stories to some other magazines and newspapers. Although my publisher and I both agreed that it was not the right material for Canadian Ladies Journal at this time, we were quite taken with your story "The Button". I fully expected another publisher to snap up the opportunity to print it and I was not mistaken. My friend at Family Homelife magazine loved it and if you haven't received it yet, you should be receiving correspondence from him shortly regarding an offer of payment and your release for its publication._

 _I would love to let your mother-in-law think that somehow she and I had brokered the deal and that she now is in my debt, but alas, the publisher liked your work all on your own._

 _Good luck and Best Wishes. I hope to meet again._

 _P.S. I've enclosed an autographed copy of my article on you and your dashing husband._

 _Sincerely, Lulu_

* * *

Elizabeth finished reading the letter aloud but didn't say anything more.

"The Button? Which story was that?" Jack asked happily as he looked at Elizabeth, who was staring at the letter in disbelief.

"You didn't read that one. It has Mountie Theodore in it. I wrote it one night just before Lulu arrived in town."

"What's it about?"

"It's -. It's fiction." Elizabeth said hesitantly. "It's actually probably not going to get published. I'm not sure why I even wrote that one. It was so different from the others."

"It sounds exactly like it's going to be published! This is terrific. Why aren't you happy?" Jack asked in puzzlement

"I just - . I don't know. The idea of my thoughts being published is kind of scary."

"It's fantastic! This is what you wanted." His excitement for her was evident in his voice. "I'm going to be married to a published author. A teacher _and_ a published author. I wish I had a chance to read it before you gave it to her."

Elizabeth moved over to her desk and pulled out some papers. She hesitated for a moment before handing them to Jack. "This is the handwritten copy. I gave a typed copy to Lulu."

* * *

Elizabeth nervously dusted the small house. Trying to keep busy while Jack read her story. She thought that her other stories which she had submitted were more exciting and humorous than this one. But Lulu and the publisher seemed to think this one was the best. This one had been the hardest to write.

Jack paused and looked up from the papers at Elizabeth but she quickly averted her eyes and kept dusting, so he went back to reading.

After what seemed like an eternity to Elizabeth, Jack set down the papers.

"This is really good", he said seriously. "It's not me though, is it? Teddy? Mountie Theodore. It's not me. It's you. And it's not a button from a uniform. It's your dad's pair of eyeglasses. The one's you keep in your top dresser drawer."

Elizabeth wiped away a tear and nodded. "It's kind of a mixture of you and me and my parents and some is fact and some is fiction", she said quietly.

"Oh, sweetie. I'm so sorry", Jack said as stood up and walked over to her, pulling her into his arms. "I'm sorry your father died. But I am never leaving you."

"Not even death can keep us apart", he whispered in her ear as she clung to him.

Jack pulled back slightly from the downcast Elizabeth and kissed her forehead.

Lifting her chin with the touch of his fingers, he smiled at her when she looked him in the eye. "We are both too stubborn to let one of us die without the other so we are both going to live long wonderful lives together. I promise."

"Besides, once I see all the beautiful babies you're going to make for us, you won't be able to get rid of me even if you wanted to."

Elizabeth gave Jack a weak smile and raised her eyebrows. "I'm never going to want to get rid of you. But are you trying to entice me upstairs to bed to make a baby?"

"Heck no! Why should we bother going upstairs when we have a perfectly good couch right here", he said with all his boyish charm.

As Jack began kissing Elizabeth tenderly and then more passionately, his hand released the sheets of paper he was still holding and they fluttered to the floor. As the married couple fell onto the couch in each other's arms, neither of them bothered to pick up the story.

Rip, curious as to the white sheets of paper, sniffed at them momentarily. Disappointed that they weren't food, he walked away never knowing the importance of the story.

If the dog could have read the words, maybe he would have shed a tear. Instead he wandered to his bed and lay down for a nap, leaving the papers for someone else to read.

 **The Button by Elizabeth Thornton**

 **The three men in the barracks, eager for a warm breakfast before the start of a long day of classroom time and training, quickly finished getting ready.**

 **Theodore, or Teddy as he was now called, was the most serious of the three. He and Lee, his fun-loving side kick, had been close friends since before the Academy. They now stood next to each other as they closed up their lockers. Jim, with his flaming red hair and freckles, was across the room.**

 **"Darn! I lost a button. Hey, Teddy. You always carry an extra button with you. I've seen you fingering it. Let me have it?" Jim called out as he looked down at his own uniform.**

 **"Did you look on the floor under your cot? Maybe it rolled there", Teddy responded without offering his extra button.**

 **"Nah, it's not there. Just let me have yours."**

 **"Sorry. You can't have it. It's not really to be loaned out." Teddy didn't elaborate and instead ran his fingers through his hair and straightened his jacket.**

 **"For Pete's sake, Teddy. It's a button. What's the big deal?" Jim asked in annoyance.**

 **"Leave him alone, Jim. They'll have one at the quartermaster. Come on. I'll walk there with you", Lee said as he looked sympathetically at Teddy.**

 **Rather than go to breakfast as he had initially planned, Teddy sat on the tightly stretched blanket of his neatly made bunk and pulled the gold colored button from his pocket. He fingered it for a moment and then, noticing the smudges he caused, he pulled out his handkerchief and rubbed it clean again. As he put it back in his pocket, he thought back to when he had first acquired the button. It had been more than a decade earlier when he had sneaked across the candlelit room and stolen the button off the uniform of another Mountie.**

 **Teddy sat in the barracks but his mind went back to that time years ago, remembering it as if it were just that morning.**

 **All those years ago. When he was just a boy, wanting to be a man.**

* * *

 **Years earlier, looking in the small mirror above the wash basin, a young Teddy had run his hands over his smooth boyhood face, naively hoping to feel the stubble of an incoming beard. It didn't make sense; that he wanted to feel something just so that he could then shave it off. But as he glanced at his father's horse-hair shaving brush and the razor next to it, he once again prayed that he could be just like his pa.**

 **All Teddy wanted was to be like his pa. Yesterday, his ma had been so short-tempered and tired that she had yelled at him as he had walked around the house wearing his pa's official hat, pretending to be a Mountie instead of doing his chores.**

 **She had been yelling at him a lot lately. Ever since Teddy's pa got hurt. _It's trauma to the skull_ , that's what the doctor had said. Teddy wasn't supposed to know how bad it was, but young boys, especially those who are intelligent and curious, pick up more than adults think they do. His ma had shooed him out of the room when the doctor came to look at his pa for the third time that week, but Teddy had sneaked back and listened through the crack in the door.**

 **After that, Teddy would barely leave his pa's side.**

 ** _I promise I'll get stronger and I'll teach you to be a man. A Mountie like me if you want._ That's what his pa had told him. But his pa had lied. He didn't get stronger.**

 **And then, one day, he was gone.**

* * *

 **The day his father died, Teddy's ma went on as if nothing happened. She just smiled, kept going, made dinner for everyone.**

 **Teddy never saw her cry that night. Or any time since then.**

 **The day after his pa's death, his ma had put on her only black dress, combed her hair neatly into a bun, and reminded her boys to stand up straight and not to dirty their clothes.**

 **While she had greeted visitors, Teddy, his hand concealing a pair of tiny scissors from his ma's sewing box, had approached the open casket. Glancing around to make sure that no one was looking, he had snipped off one of the shiny gold buttons from his pa's uniform. He figured his ma would have said no if he asked her permission, and she'd be mad if she noticed. She had spent more than an hour the night before pressing the uniform and making sure every medal and detail was perfect. But Teddy wanted something.**

 **Something of his pa's to hold on to. Something to always keep close to him.**

 **Teddy's nervous little hand clenched the button as he went back to greeting visitors and then he quietly slipped it into his pocket.**

 **He didn't notice when his ma, the last of the people to approach the casket before it was closed for the final time, gently took his pa's hand and placed it over his chest, covering the cut thread and the noticeable blank spot where the button should have been. Teddy didn't see her wipe the tear from her eye before she took a deep breath and turned back to her grieving family.**

 **Years later, as he hugged her goodbye on his way to the Academy, Teddy wondered if his mother would cry if something happened to him. Would she shed any tears if he came home injured like his pa had? Would she cry into a handkerchief if he came home in a simple pine box draped with the Canadian flag? Or would she remain stoic and go about her day as if the news of her oldest son's death was no more distressing than learning it might rain that day?**

 **Teddy never asked his mother why she didn't cry when her husband died. He knew that they had loved each other. Teddy remembered how they would laugh with each other and how his mom always said that she fell in love with Teddy's father from the moment she had met him.**

 **But Teddy never asked her to help him understand why she didn't cry. Somehow it seemed too personal. Even for a son to ask his mother. And so he accepted her simple explanation that crying doesn't do anyone any good. He hoped that his mom had more feelings than that. But he wasn't truly sure, so he didn't ask.**

* * *

 **Teddy liked to think that he had a good memory for things. He certainly remembered every detail of his father's death. And the good times they had when they were fishing and camping. Laughing and telling stories. Hunting and doing chores.**

 **But those were more recent memories than the memories of another death. If he had remembered the first death more clearly, rather than as if it were just a faded story or a wisp of a memory, he would have known why his mother never cried.**

 **Teddy had been just four years old at the time of the first death. His younger brother just two. At first, they were excited to have a baby sister. The idea seemed like fun, but after she was born, she was actually quite boring to the two boys.**

 **And then, when the beautiful little girl, named Anne by her ecstatic parents, was diagnosed with a bad heart, she took so much of his parents' attention that Teddy and his brother seemed to have been ignored for days at times.**

 **His mother still fed them and bathed them. Made sure they had toys to play with. Tucked them in at night. But she no longer had time to read them bedtime stories or sing with them or make up games to occupy their days.**

 **And then, when she was just five weeks old, pale fragile little Anne had died.**

* * *

 **Teddy's mother had cried for weeks. She still fed and bathed the boys. She made sure they had toys to play with and that they were tucked in at night. She now had the time to read to them, and sing to them, and make up games. But she didn't read, or sing, or play. She had the time. But not the energy. She walked around in a cloud of sadness, bursting into tears at any moment.**

 **When the family walked down the street together and would pass a family with a young girl, Teddy's ma would get weepy and then wipe the wetness from her eyes, hoping that no one would notice.**

 **When she saw a parent scolding a child or complaining about how exhausting it was to have three or more children, Teddy's mom would loudly exclaim that the parent didn't know how lucky he or she was. And then, she would burst into tears and hurry the family home again.**

 **Four months after Anne's death, Teddy's pa couldn't take it anymore. It tore him up every time he saw his wife mourning. At meals, she barely ate. During the day, she just wanted to sleep or stare out the window. She rarely spoke, and when she did it was with a sad weak voice. Her eyes never recovered from one bout of puffiness before she would burst into tears again.**

 **Teddy's father loved his wife more than he thought possible, but he didn't know how to fix her broken heart. And he couldn't let her go on this way.**

 **When his wife walked in the bedroom and saw him packing a small suitcase, he sat her down on the bed.**

 **"You need to stop this. We can't go on like this anymore. I'm taking the boys to Cape Fullerton for a few days. To see the ships. It will be an adventure for them. Cry all you want when we're gone. But when we come back, you need to be done. Crying never did anyone any good. I don't want the boys' only memory of Anne to be that she destroyed their ma. We loved her. But she's gone. I won't have her memory wipe out our happiness. The boys deserve better."**

 **Teddy's ma knew that her husband was right. Crying never did anyone any good. She had cried for four months. Her daughter was still dead.**

 **Five days later, when Teddy, his brother, and his pa came back from Cape Fullerton, Teddy's mom greeted them at the door with hugs and kisses. Teddy never knew the real reason why his father had taken them on a trip to Cape Fullerton. That he had taken them away so his ma could cry alone until she had nothing left. All he remembered about the long weekend were the tall ships they had seen and how when they got back home, his mother had laughed and smiled and baked cookies with them.**

 **He never saw her cry again and after a while, he forgot that she ever had. As he grew from a boy to a young adult, he never saw a tear from her. When other mothers cried as their sons left to join the Royal Northwest Mounted Police, Teddy's ma simply hugged him goodbye, smiled, patted him on the back, and wished him luck.**

 **Teddy never knew of the countless times after his pa's death when his ma was on the verge of bursting into tears but then his pa's words came back to her.**

 **Crying doesn't do anyone any good.**

 **So she would push away her grief and go about her day with a smile for her boys.**

 **Teddy never knew that by not crying, his ma was trying to honor his pa. To not let the boys' happy memories of their father be destroyed over time by her endless grief.**

 **He had never before guessed that the sometimes blurred ink on her letters was not from raindrops hitting the mail, but from a tear or two that had managed to escape her eyes as she had worried about her oldest son being a Mountie.**

* * *

 **"Teddy. You've missed almost all of breakfast. You'd better hurry if you want anything", Jim called out as he came back to the barracks and found Teddy sitting on the cot looking at his most recent mail.**

 **"I'll be out in a bit. I'm going to write my ma a letter," Teddy answered as he saw the blurred ink and realized for the first time that the writing on the outside of the envelope was entirely clear and perfect. It was only a few words inside that were blurred.**

 **The end**

* * *

Jack lay on the couch holding Elizabeth while she napped. He glanced over at the papers which still lay scattered on the floor, realizing the enormity of the effect her father's death had had on her family. He thought of her father's glasses which she kept in her dresser drawer. All these years after his death, the young girl in her still clung to something from her pa.

Jack had replaced her tears with kisses, but he knew that her fear for his safety would grow the longer they were married. Once they had children, he would give up being a Mountie, even if she didn't ask him to do so.

"I will never abandon you, Elizabeth. I will never abandon our children. Not even death can part us", he whispered as he kissed her head.


	32. Chapter 32 -The Coal Mine

**Chapter 32 – The Coal Mine**

"You got a letter. It's addressed to " _Author_ Elizabeth Thornton" so I suspect it's from a fan."

Jack walked through the front room and spoke to Elizabeth as she stood at the kitchen counter spreading butter on slices of fresh bread.

"I'm so glad you have those keen Mountie investigative skills", Elizabeth said with a chuckle as she set down the knife and quickly put a thick slice of cheese on the bread before reaching for the envelope.

"Ever since you've been published, you've been getting a couple letters a week", Jack remarked admiringly as he reached around Elizabeth, grabbed a slice of cheese from the counter and popped it in his mouth.

Elizabeth sat down in a kitchen chair and opened the envelope. Pulling out the sheet of paper, she glanced at it before extending it out to Jack.

"It's in French. You read it", she instructed. "Your French is much better than mine."

"A two year old's French is better than yours."

"That's not true!"

"You know French toast. French fries. And French kissing. I especially like your French kissing", he said with a smile and a wink. "But do you know actual French words? Not so much."

"Hush. Just read. I want to know what she says about my writing."

" _Connaissez-vous des Mounties celibataires. Je pense qu'ils sont tres attractive. Ne hesitez pas a donner mon nom et adresse a tout ce que vous savez qui souhaite correspondre",_ Jack read aloud from the paper.

Jack let out a chuckle _._ "She finds Mounties very attractive and wants you to introduce her to any single Mounties you know."

Elizabeth made a sound of frustration. "That's all they want! I should never have let the magazine publish that second story about Mountie Theodore saving the lady from the thieves. Every letter I get is from a woman wanting to meet a handsome dashing Mountie! They're like a pack of wolves. Half the time, all they do is ask about you! Why does being a Mountie have to be so dramatic? I should have made Theodore a teacher!"

"I love your little jealous fits", Jack said with a laugh.

"I am not jealous", she retorted irritably.

"Of course not. That anonymous letter you wrote to the Royal Northwest Mounties suggesting that they do away with the red serge uniform because . . . how did you phrase it? Oh, yes. Because the red is too glaring. That had nothing to do with the ladies who remarked how attractive I must look in it when I do my rounds."

"I told you I was just concerned that the color's boldness may cause animals to become agitated", Elizabeth replied haughtily. _Darn him for finding that letter!_ "And I never mailed it."

"Because I found it before you had a chance", he reminded her with a grin as he took the sandwich from the counter, wrapped it in a cloth napkin, and put it in his satchel.

"This handsome dashing Mountie has got to get going." Jack closed his satchel and slung it over his shoulder before leaning in to kiss Elizabeth.

"I'll be back in three or four days. Town should be pretty boring with most of the mill workers taking advantage of the stoppage to wait for parts. Quite a few were planning on going out of town. Remember what I said."

"Yes. Yes. I remember", Elizabeth said in a bored voice. "Make sure the windows and door are locked every night."

"And no climbing ladders, burning down buildings, or getting taken hostage", he added with raised eyebrows.

"Anything else?"

"You could be naked in bed waiting for me when I get back", he suggested hopefully with a grin.

Elizabeth couldn't help but giggle. "That can be arranged."

* * *

Days later, straightening the test papers and putting them in her desk drawer at the end of the school day, Elizabeth looked at the calendar and smiled. Jack should be home by tomorrow. As she started to turn her eyes away from the squares on the paper which noted the days of the week and dates, she realized with a start the significance of the date.

 _No wonder Abigail was so preoccupied this morning_. _And why Rosaleen left at lunchtime and said she had a stomach ache._

 _Today is the anniversary._

The town's closest mine had closed long ago, and the coal mining families from just a few years ago had been replaced with lumber mill families. New settlers worked the land or the mines farther away from town.

Few of the town's inhabitants from that horrific day still lived in Hope Valley. To the newer residents, the explosion that had claimed the lives of 47 miners was just a piece of history.

But Rosaleen and her mother had remained in Hope Valley. Rosaleen knew the significance of today's date.

The anniversary of the day she chose to play with a friend rather than meet her father for lunch at the mine entrance. The day her happy life exploded when the mine exploded.

 _That's why she left at lunchtime._

* * *

Molly Sullivan, Rosaleen's mother, was startled when Elizabeth stopped by her house looking for the girl. It soon became apparent that Rosaleen hadn't gone home at lunchtime. And she hadn't returned to school. She had now been gone almost four hours without anyone noticing she was missing.

While some residents went door to door asking if anyone had seen Rosaleen, Molly and Elizabeth grabbed lanterns and headed out of town, with Molly going to the boarded up coal mine entrance, and Elizabeth heading towards the grassy fields where she knew Rosaleen liked to play.

It was light outside, but Elizabeth knew it might take a while to find the small girl. She felt better having a lantern with her if Rosaleen was still missing when the sun set.

* * *

Elizabeth felt discouraged as she stood in the center of a field of tall grass far outside of town. The ground was mushy from recent rainfall and Elizabeth's boots were sinking into the soft earth in places. She had gone much farther than she had intended with no sign of Rosaleen and the girl hadn't responded to Elizabeth's yells.

As the sun began to set, Elizabeth lit her lantern. Hoping that the girl had been found and was back home already, she turned back in the direction she had come.

Elizabeth watched several deer run off in the distance and began the long walk back to town.

And then . . .

. . . the earth collapsed beneath her.

* * *

Elizabeth moved her hands wildly about, dropping the lantern as she frantically tried to grab something solid to hold onto.

She was moving so quickly that blades of grass slipped through her fingers as she tried to cling to the crumbling ground.

She was falling through the air in a rush of panic and confusion.

 _What happened to the ground?!_ she thought desperately.

* * *

As she landed with a thud and opened her eyes after the impact, the first thing Elizabeth became aware of was that suddenly the day had turned dark.

 _Oh. That hurt. That really really hurt._

Elizabeth lifted her body and grasped the metal handle of the lantern which lay next to her arm. Pulling it away, she groaned in agony as a broken shard of glass, still fixed to the metal cage surrounding the glass dome, painfully separated from her arm.

The lantern's metal frame had protected most of the glass, saving the flame and keeping Elizabeth from being in near total darkness. But the broken piece had cut a deep gash in her upper arm when she had fallen on it.

Elizabeth took inventory of her body. One bleeding arm. A bump on forehead. Two painful knees. Scrapes on the hands. A sore left shoulder.

She pulled out her handkerchief from her skirt pocket and quickly tied it around the bleeding gash in her arm before taking inventory of her surroundings.

Blackness.

The rain soaked ground above had collapsed, leaving a hole not quite three feet in diameter and dropping Elizabeth more than fifteen feet into an abandoned shaft of the town's coal mine.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth sat back down. It appeared that most of the rock ceiling above her was intact. Somehow she had managed to step in the only thin spot which had been weakened by recent rains.

Elizabeth couldn't possibly climb out of hole high above her and she didn't want to risk wandering down a darkened tunnel and getting lost in the miles of underground passageways and dead ends. She would have to wait to be rescued.

She held her arm close to the light of the lantern, and realized that it had quickly bled through the fabric she had wrapped around it. She removed the bloody handkerchief, and examined the three inch slice in her flesh.

Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled out her small sewing kit, which contained just one needle, two pins, and two colors of thread. She always kept it with her for sewing emergencies. Well, not so much _emergencies_. Rarely was a loose button or small tear an emergency. Even she had to admit that. But now she actually had somewhat of a real emergency.

 _I can do this_ , she thought with determination as she threaded the needle.

She winced as she lifted up the hem of her skirt and wiped it across the wound, hoping to clear away some of the blood to get a better view. But as soon as the blood was cleared, more flowed from the cut.

 _I've sew Jack's arm. When he got cut breaking up the fight at the Saloon. He barely even winced when I did it. So it can't be that bad. . . . Of course, he did have a drink or two of whiskey._

 _But still, he's sewn his own knee. So it's probably not that painful._

 _Six stitches. Maybe seven. Okay, probably eight will do it,_ Elizabeth thought worriedly.

Elizabeth took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. _Here goes. Stitch number one. Be brave._

 _Ouch! Damn! That hurt!_ Tears filled her eyes and she dropped the needle.

She shook her hand to ease away the pain.

 _Plan B,_ she thought as she wadded up the handkerchief and pressed it hard against the wound before bending her elbow and using her forearm to keep it in place.

Using her other hand, she took the sash from around her waist and clumsily tied it around the wound and handkerchief, using her teeth to pull it tight.

 _I can get stitches later. When I have some whiskey. Jack can do it for me. When I'm asleep. Or drunk. Or unconscious._

 _Wow, he must be really brave to have not even have cried when I stitched him,_ she thought in amazement.

* * *

An hour later, Elizabeth, sitting on the cold hard ground of the mine, summarized her situation. It was getting late, she wasn't sure if anyone saw which direction she had walked in, no one was probably looking for her yet, many of mill workers had left town for a few days vacation, and Jack was out of town.

Elizabeth quickly banished the thoughts which were creeping into her head of never being found alive.

 _Okay. I can handle this. Jack should be coming home late today or tomorrow. He's not that far away. Maybe six or seven hours if he rides nonstop. We're in love. We have a connection. He probably senses that I'm in trouble! I just have to concentrate and send him a message about what happened. Telepathy! I'll send him a message and he'll receive it. That's what lovers can do!_

A confident Elizabeth took a deep sigh, closed her eyes, and concentrated. She pictured Jack in her mind. Handsome in his red serge riding atop his horse.

 _Jack, I'm trapped in a mine shaft under the grassy field where we held hands and talked about our future. The field past the pond. I'd like you to come get me please._

Elizabeth waited 20 seconds. Nothing.

 _Maybe it doesn't work as clearly as a telegraph over the long distance. I just have to try again._

 _Jack, can you sense that I'm in trouble? It's me. Your wife. Can you feel me penetrating your mind_?

Nothing.

She frowned in frustration _. I know he can't get here for hours but he could have at least sent me a message back!_

 _Oh this is stupid! There's no such thing as telepathy! While I'm sitting trapped in a coal mine, Jack's probably thinking about fishing._

* * *

Elizabeth shivered in her underground prison where the temperature remained approximately 50 degrees despite the outside weather.

She had been sitting directly under the hole in the ground, appreciative of the limited daylight coming in as she called out for help every so often. Now that the sun had set, the opening above her was a small circle of darkness. The only thing distinguishing it from the cave's rocky ceiling was the splatter of twinkling stars.

Elizabeth nervously glanced around.

 _The kerosene in the lantern won't last much longer. Too bad I don't have anything to burn. There's not a stick of available wood down here._

 _For goodness sakes! You're in a coal mine, you ninny! Burn the coal. There's not too much gas so there won't be an explosion. . . . There's a hole above me for ventilation. . . . Maybe the smoke will help someone find me in the morning!_

Elizabeth crawled around the hard ground on her hands and knees, collecting loose pieces of coal into her skirt.

Returning to her familiar spot under the earth's gap, she dumped the coal pieces into a pile before opening the lantern and tilting it until the remaining liquid dripped onto the black rocks. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when she used the lantern's flame to light the pile.

She would have light to get her through the night.

* * *

The howl of the animal startled her.

When she realized the sound was coming from just above her, she anxiously looked upwards towards the opening. Two glittering circles stared back at her. Elizabeth saw two more shiny circles look over the edge. And then another two. Six eyes. Three sets.

 _Three coyotes. No, not coyotes. They like to hunt alone. Wolves. Wolves hunt in packs._

Elizabeth quickly added more coal to the fire. _Don't jump down here!_ she pleaded with the wolves.

 _Smoke, damn it, smoke_!, she ordered the fire as she fanned the small flame. Elizabeth scrambled on the mine floor, gathering more rocks of coal and began hurling them upwards at the animals.

"Go! Get out of here!"

The eyes drew back and then returned. Time and time again. Until the three wolves finally tired of the screeching coming from the depths of the hole and the black coal flying in their faces, and they withdrew. Hurrying across the grassy field in search of other prey.

Elizabeth stayed tense for another ten minutes. A piece of coal readied in her uninjured hand. Finally, she relaxed against the ground and let down her hand _. I hate wolves!_

She trembled in the cold, put up the collar of her thin coat, and scooched closer to the small pile of burning coal.

 _What's the point of being married to a Mountie if he doesn't even rescue you? All those women think Mounties are so dashing and heroic. Some kind of Mountie he is. He can't even rescue his own wife,_ Elizabeth grumbled.

 _To serve and protect. Hah! He's out there serving and protecting everyone else. Even complete strangers. When was the last time he served and protected me?!_

 _Okay, so he did serve me breakfast in bed the other day. Big deal. One day. Oh yeah, he also served me dinner on the couch the other night when I was busy reading that novel and didn't want to stop. That was a good book!_

Elizabeth's frown lessened as she remembered Jack carrying the tray of food and the large glass of lemonade to her.

 _But protect? When has he ever done that for me?_ she thought angrily when several bats flew towards her. She jerked out of their way, waving her arms.

 _I suppose there was the incident with the snake. . . . And the Tolliver gang. . . . And Mr. Spurlock. . . . And a couple other times._

 _Fine! He's served and protected me. But he's not helping me out right now!,_ she thought irritably as she pulled her knees up against her chin and shivered some more.

 _I thought being married was supposed to make me stronger person. Half the time I just feel weak in the knees when I'm around him!_

 _Hmm. He does have a way of doing that to me. He is awful good looking,_ she admitted.

 _And nice. And so funny._

Elizabeth's lips crept into a smile as she thought more about Jack.

 _I love talking to him. He's really smart. He always makes me feel better about everything. Just being around him makes a good day even better. And he's really supportive of things I do. He's proud of my accomplishment, I'll give him that. Even little things like when a student's mom compliments me for my teaching._ _And when I was sick he took care of me._ _It doesn't even bother him that my cooking isn't good. He is so sweet to me. And not just to me. He's sweet to everyone. . . well, except criminals. But that doesn't count. Everyone else knows how wonderful he is._

 _Oh, Jack, I miss you!_ Elizabeth wailed.

* * *

Jack stretched his tired body as he walked out of the livery into the afternoon sunlight. It had been a long four days and he was looking forward to the same things he always looked forward to now. A warm meal, a warm bed, and his warm wife. Most importantly, his wife.

"Jack!"

Abigail ran across the street toward Jack, who stopped and waited for her to approach.

"Elizabeth's missing", she exclaimed as she came to a halt in front of him.

"She went looking for Rosaleen yesterday and she hasn't come back. Rosaleen came back. She was fine. She just needed some space. It was the anniversary. But Elizabeth hasn't come back. No one's seen her. The town's pretty empty 'cause the mill's been closed for a few days. We looked for her but nothing. She disappeared. She never came back to town last night. We have no idea what happened to Elizabeth", Abigail, out of breath, finished her flurry of words.

"Slow down for a second. You're talking a mile a minute. I need to understand this."

* * *

Jack rode quickly away from town. According to Abigail, Elizabeth had been missing over 24 hours. Last seen walking in the direction of the open fields past the pond, she had simply disappeared.

 _Elizabeth, where are you?!_ he thought worriedly.

* * *

Elizabeth had drifted in and out of sleep for hours. It was too cold. Too scary. The ground too hard to allow any decent rest. Her body hurt and her belly was hungry.

Every so often she looked up, watching as the twinkling stars eventually faded away and a beam of sunlight now shone down onto her.

 _Someone will find me_ , she thought with determination as she shivered and tightened the bloody sash on her arm.

* * *

"Elizabeth!"

"Elizabeth!"

"Elizabeth!"

"Jack! I'm down a hole!" Elizabeth yelled out as she jumped to her feet and looked upwards when she heard his voice.

"Jack! Jack!", she kept yelling.

* * *

"Oh, thank goodness!", Elizabeth exclaimed when Jack's face looked over the edge of the ground.

"Are you okay?" he called down worriedly.

"I think so. Just banged up and cold."

"Are you sure you're okay? Nothing broken?"

"No, nothing's broken. I'm okay. I've got a cut but it's fine."

"I'm going to send down a rope", Jack said before he disappeared from her view.

He came back seconds later and began lowering the thick twisted rope.

"Put the loop around your upper thighs. Like sitting on a rope swing. And hold on."

Elizabeth bounced up and down on her toes nervously waiting for the end of the rope to reach her.

"Okay, I'm ready. Pull me up", she called upwards after following Jack's instructions. When she looked towards the hole, she noticed that Jack had disappeared from view.

"Jack?!"

"Jack? Pull me up!" she called frantically.

 _Where the heck did he go?!_

She waited anxiously until she saw his face peering over the edge again.

Jack smiled down at her. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're not as light as you think. I'm going to have the horse pull you up. I had to tie up the end and get the horse ready."

"How big do you think I am?!"

"I think you're just perfect. But I've held you in my arms enough to know that it will be easier for the horse to pull you up than for me to do it. Blame it on my lack of arm muscles", he said humorously.

"I'll go walk the horse. I'll go slowly but yell if you have trouble."

Jack started to move away but was back in less than a tenth of a second. He looked down at her.

"What?!" Elizabeth said worriedly.

Jack smiled. "I love you."

Elizabeth's face broke into a grin. "I love you, too."

"I really really love you", he said earnestly.

Elizabeth laughed. "I really really love you too. Now pull me up."

* * *

"You're going to keep me on my toes for the next 60 years aren't you?" Jack asked as he looked her in the eyes and then tucked a wayward curl behind her ear before putting his hands on her waist and carefully lifting her onto his horse.

Elizabeth sensed the worry behind his smile.

"I'm sorry, Jack. It wasn't my fault. Really it wasn't", she said as Jack mounted the horse and settled behind her.

"I know. Those old shafts are dangerous. There's no telling the paths that run underground. All that rain we had this week must have weakened the ground and caused the sinkhole."

Jack chuckled. "However, I was gone in the wilderness for four days and _I_ managed to come back safe and sound. You, on the other hand, the simple school teacher, managed to get yourself in another situation."

"Just what are you getting at?"

"Perhaps it's okay that you made Theodore a Mountie and not a teacher. You just proved that being a school teacher is just as dangerous as being a Mountie."

"Apparently, I did", she answered with a smile.

"I just wish you would've picked a less dramatic way to make your point."

"I wasn't trying to be dramatic! " Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Well you did a very good job for not even trying", he complimented her.

She leaned against Jack and let him nuzzle his chin against her neck as his hands held her close . "I like being your handsome dashing Mountie . Rescuing you. But you don't follow instructions very well", he remarked.

"What instructions?" Elizabeth scrunched up her face in confusion.

"Which part of be waiting for me naked in bed did you not understand?" Jack asked with a smirk.

* * *

"I think it's warm enough in here, Constable", the town doctor, sitting at the kitchen table next to Elizabeth, said with a touch of humor as he noticed Jack carrying another log to the stove.

"She was in a coal mine all night."

"And now she's in a very warm house", Doctor Roberts said patiently and with an added chuckle. "If you're not careful, you're going to melt us."

"I just want her to be warm", Jack replied worriedly.

"She's fine. Believe me. If I were worried about her temperature, I would let you know."

"I'm fine, Jack. Really. I am. Take care of yourself", Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth watched out of the corner of her eyes as Jack considered her advice. Remembering that he hadn't bathed for several days and had been sleeping outdoors, he lowered his suspenders and began unbuttoning the shirt which he had been wearing for more than 24 hours.

He barely paid attention to what he was doing as he pulled it off his arms and threw the cotton garment into the corner of the floor to be laundered later. Elizabeth bit her lip in anticipation when she saw his arm muscles outlined by his tight fitting undershirt.

Reaching his arms over his head, Jack used both hands to grab ahold of his undershirt's back collar and pulled the fabric over his head. He tossed the sweaty undershirt on top of his other discarded shirt and ran his hand through his ruffled hair. This time, Elizabeth swallowed at the sight of his exposed bare chest which she hadn't seen in days.

Jack took a bar of soap and a washcloth, holding it under the kitchen's sink pump until it was wet. Taking the lathered cloth, he quickly ran it over his torso and under his arms, cleaning away the sweat and dirt from living in nature.

Grabbing another washcloth, he rinsed away the suds from his wet skin.

When he wiped his body with a dry towel, Elizabeth averted her glance.

 _It's getting hot in here,_ she thought as she shifted in her chair.

 _And I don't think it has anything to do with the stove._

She looked toward the front door. It seemed the safest place to keep her eyes focused. Staring at her injured arm as the doctor worked on it made her queasy. Staring at Jack made her head spin.

 _Yes. I'll just keep staring at the door for a while._

Jack ran his hand along his scruffy face but didn't bother to shave as he kept glancing back at Elizabeth. When he realized that she was going to be fine, his worry over her injuries started to turn to an urge to touch her.

 _Even covered in coal dust, she manages to be sexy,_ he thought with a shake of his head.

When she heard Jack opening the cupboards, Elizabeth turned to take a look. Despite the pain of her arm and the hunger in her belly, she felt a tingle go through her body just being in his presence.

Looking at him made her think of what she wanted to be doing with him. About the things he could do to her. The things he _would_ do to her when they were alone.

 _Why is this doctor taking so long. Just stitch up my arm and be done with it!_

"It's not so bad", Jack said encouragingly when he noticed that she was looking anxiously at him rather than the doctor, who was conscientiously looking for slivers of glass in her wound.

"Here. Have a sip to help with the pain." Jack, still bare-chested, walked across the room and handed her a glass of whiskey. "Or a couple sips."

"You probably could have done this yourself, Constable", the doctor noted. 'But I'm glad to take a look at it. Keeps me in my job", he added good-naturedly as he examined the deep gash.

The doctor took his time with the wound. Cleaning it. Putting a block of ice against it to numb it before slowly stitching it. Wrapping it carefully.

He moved Elizabeth's arm, looking for other cuts or bruises, and then lifted up her uninjured arm. "Does any of this hurt?"

"No."

Jack watched as the doctor began meticulously touching Elizabeth's shoulders, her neck, and her head, looking for injuries.

He sighed in frustration and rubbed his hands together, fighting the urge to cross the room, push aside the doctor, and touch Elizabeth himself.

Elizabeth barely paid attention as the doctor pushed on her back.

"Fine. It's fine", she said absentmindedly as the man asked her if anything hurt.

Elizabeth looked over her shoulder at Jack who was now heating up some oatmeal on the stove for her. Her cheeks became flushed as she thought the most unladylike thoughts.

 _Oh my!_ _What I'd like to be doing with him._

 _For goodness sakes, doesn't the doctor have any other patients he needs to go check on? Somebody in town must be having a baby or breaking a leg!_

Elizabeth thought about how she must look. She was wearing modest undergarments, but she had removed her blouse for the doctor. She hadn't checked her reflection in a mirror but she could rightly assume that her hair was messy and that coal dust and dirt covered her pale skin.

She glanced over at Jack and noticed him frowning and looking impatient at how much time the doctor was taking.

He had been so concerned about her at the mine site and on the ride back to town, that he had insisted on having a doctor look at her _._

 _Maybe now he's wondering why he bothered. There's nothing terribly wrong with me. Other than needing stitches. I wonder if he's upset because now we have a doctor's bill to pay. . . . .He's acting like he wishes the doctor wasn't even here. Goodness, I wonder how much a doctor's house call costs? Could it be that much?_

* * *

As Jack walked the doctor to the door and closed it behind him, Elizabeth carried her glass, using her uninjured arm, to the kitchen counter. When she turned around, she was startled to find Jack right behind her.

Jack grabbed Elizabeth by the waist and pulled her to him. He kissed her possessively before separately ever so slightly.

His voice was husky as he looked in her eyes.

"When you say you're going to be waiting naked in bed for me, I expect you to be waiting naked in bed for me. Not idly sitting down a coal mine."

He picked up a lock of her hair and fingered it before focusing his eyes on her mouth.

"Give me five minutes", she answered with a breathless gulp.

"Oh no. It's too late for that", he replied hoarsely as he leaned closer and cupped her face in his strong hands. His mouth brushed against hers and she breathed in the scent of his clean soap.

Elizabeth's heart quickened even as she felt herself grow weak under his scrutiny.

"You're going to just have to get naked right here," he informed her in a low intimate voice before claiming her lips again.

Elizabeth gasped in delight as Jack's hands began helping her achieve that goal.

 **Up next: Chapter 33**

 **Dear Readers: To the reader who posted reviews today (on Sunday, August 21). You reviewed as a guest so I can't respond to you personally, but thank you for reading and reviewing. (I jumped ahead a few chapters from where you last reviewed to leave this note. )I'm so glad you took a chance on my reading my story because it intrigued you!**


	33. Chapter 33 - Farm Life

**Chapter 33 – Farm Living**

"Elizabeth, I'm home", Jack called out as he walked in the front door in the early evening. He took off his cowboy hat with the felt bent in all the right places, and his leather jacket, softened and distressed by wear and weather, and hung them on the simple wooden hooks on the wall.

"I'm up here!"

Following the sound of Elizabeth's voice and detecting a slight frustration in it, Jack climbed the bare wooden stairs to the small upper level of their house, wondering if something was wrong.

He paused when he saw Elizabeth standing in the bedroom. The top buttons of her simple blouse undone. The sleeves rolled up. Her brow furrowed in distress.

"Why are you doing this?" Jack questioned.

"Doing what?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Pushing us apart?"

"I'm not pushing _us_ apart."

"Yes, you are. That's exactly what you're doing."

"Your parents are coming to visit. I can't have us sharing a bed when they're here. Now, give me a hand, please. They're too heavy."

"Nope", Jack said with a smile as he leaned against the bedroom door frame and watched her continue to struggle as she pushed against one of the two single beds, now stripped of linens.

The beds, normally kept tightly next to each other with shared sheets and a blanket, were now eight inches apart.

"Jack!" Elizabeth, standing in the thin space between the beds, looked at him in exasperation.

Jack didn't make a move to help but gave her an amused look.

"I'm not helping push us apart. One, my parents are not going to come into our bedroom. Two, we're married. I think they expect us to be sharing a bed", he responded.

"No they don't. I read a magazine article on high society couples. Did you know most have their own bedrooms or, at the very least, their own beds? They'll be expecting us to sleep apart most nights."

Jack shook his head again and chuckled. "You forget. I grew up in a high society family. My parents actually share a bed."

Elizabeth stopped pushing against the beds and walked over to the dresser, picking up an opened magazine.

"Listen", she instructed as she began to read. "Once upper-class women marry, they are not to be present at the breakfast table. Rather, they are expected to eat breakfast in bed with a female servant attending to them in the bedroom. Married men, however, are expected to be present at the breakfast table and should not be seen in bed by the woman's servant. In addition, the man of the house will have a valet, while the lady will have a maid, to aid them in dressing. It is therefore, advisable that a husband and wife maintain separate bedrooms for ease and practicality. The rooms may be adjoining and share a private door to allow access should the man of the home desire to visit his wife at night".

Elizabeth handed the magazine to Jack. "It's right there in black and white."

Jack barely gave the magazine a glance as he tossed it back onto the dresser.

"Considering we don't have servants or a second bedroom, I think we're okay sharing a bed. Unless there's something you're not telling me", he said humorously as he looked around.

"Did you add a second bedroom or hire some servants while I was at work today?"

"Stop teasing. I just want to act properly around your parents."

"Should I _desire to visit_ my wife at night, I will make sure that I do it quietly", a smiling Jack responded.

"Jack!"

"Okay. Okay. I promise to be on my best behavior while my parents are here", he reluctantly agreed with a grin.

Elizabeth stopped pushing against the bed and sighed in exhaustion. "I don't want them thinking of us doing that. It's weird. Them thinking about it."

"And us not sharing a bed as newlyweds is not _weird_?", he countered with raised eyebrows.

"I don't want your parents thinking of us doing what we do", she said adamantly. "You have to admit, we do it more than we're supposed to."

"More than we're _supposed_ to?"

"You know what I mean."

Jack looked at her humorously. "Actually I don't. Why don't you explain?"

"We do it before you go away on a trip. When you come back from a trip. When we're happy that you don't have to go away on a trip. When it's raining because . . well, because I like rain and find it . . you know. And we do it when we've just bathed because . . . well, because we're –

"Naked?" Jack finished for her with a grin.

"Yes. And we do it whenever you ask for a shoulder massage because you always get excited. And when I trim the back of your hair because I get carried away. And when you brush my hair because we both get carried away. When you kiss me after you've had a cup of cinnamon tea because I love the way you taste. And, well . . . pretty much _all_ the time if you really think about it!"

"We're not doing it right now", Jack observed with a serious expression.

"Well, no . . . we're not", Elizabeth admitted. "But . . . but that's because I have to get the house ready!"

Elizabeth watched curiously as Jack began unbuttoning his shirt.

"Jack, don't you dare get us started", she warned him.

"I don't have a choice. I just drank a cup of cinnamon tea, I think it's beginning to rain outside, I'm happy I'm not going out of town, and well . .. I'm looking at you."

Elizabeth tried to remain serious and hide her smile, but was finding it very difficult as Jack stripped off his shirt and then pulled his undershirt over his head, revealing his hardened torso.

"We don't do it just because you look at me", she said stifling a giggle.

"I think we're going to have to add that to the list of when we do it", he said seductively as he approached her.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Elizabeth tightened the ribbon tie on her thin silk robe as she handed Jack a glass of water and then sat down next to him on one of the unmade single beds, curling her bare legs under her.

"Your mother hates this town."

"She doesn't hate it."

Jack drained the glass of water and then reached across the bed and set it on the nightstand, holding onto the sheet he had retrieved from the floor with one hand as it started to fall past his naked torso.

"She finds Hope Valley small and uninspired. The last time she was here, she asked me where the hair salon was and when I told her that we didn't have one, she accused me of lying!" Elizabeth responded disagreeably.

"It's your own fault that my parents are coming. If you answered my mother's letters, she wouldn't feel the need to come out here. And she wouldn't be dragging my dad with her."

"I did answer her letters!"

"When my mother writes you five-page letters with details about a wedding reception for us, and you keep responding with a simple "Maybe" or "I'll have to think about it", she gets the impression that you're not replying."

Elizabeth shrugged and gave Jack an innocent look. "I don't like to write a lot."

"A writer who doesn't like to write a lot? You'll have to do better than that, Elizabeth", he said with raised eyebrows.

"Fine. There are so many details! Candlesticks, and centerpieces, and music. And the food. Hor devours, soup, salad. She wants seven courses! I don't have a clue about morning dress, white tie, black tie, harpists! She wants my approval and thoughts and I just don't know!" Elizabeth whined.

Jack smiled. "She'll be here in two days. Just agree with everything and tell her it sounds wonderful. My mother has been planning events and going to events her whole life. Whatever she plans will be wonderful."

* * *

The next afternoon, Elizabeth was practically giddy as she led Jack by his hand across the open grassy field.

"Where are we going? What's this surprise you have to show me?" Jack chuckled.

"Follow me!" she exclaimed as she quickened her pace and smiled.

"Well, what do you think?" Elizabeth asked eagerly, holding her arms wide open and presenting the object of her happiness in a grand gesture as if she were introducing the Queen of England.

"Oh, my goodness. It's so beautiful", Jack said feigning enthusiasm.

"You really like it?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

Jack chuckled. "Yes! Why?"

"Because it's mine. I bought it today."

"Elizabeth", Jack said hesitantly. "What made you decide to do it? What made you decide to buy a . . . cow?"

"Actually, it's not mine. It's ours! Isn't it wonderful?"

"I'm going to ask my question again. What made you decide to buy a cow?"

"For the milk! She's a dairy cow!"

"For the milk?" Jack said in a bewildered voice.

"And cheese! And butter!" Elizabeth gushed as she wrapped her arms around the black and white animal and gave it a big hug.

"You bought a cow?" Jack grinned and looked curiously at his wife.

Jack couldn't stop smiling as Elizabeth explained that many of the students came from poor families and she was worried they weren't getting enough nutrition.

"This way, they'll have fresh milk every day! And you know how many of them moved here from cities, or mine towns, or lumber towns, or are the children of railroad workers. Incredible as it may seem, some don't know a lot about simple farming!"

"I highly doubt that", Jack said in with a shake of his head as he watched a happy Elizabeth scratch the cow behind its ears.

"I'm suspecting that all this talk about my family is making you miss your hometown and your family cow."

"Do you mind?" Elizabeth asked somewhat worriedly as she put her arm around the cow's neck. "We can keep it at the Cooper farm. Until we build a small barn near the school."

Jack's eyes couldn't hide his humor as he watched his bride holding onto the large cow as if it were as adorable as a puppy.

"We can keep it."

* * *

The next day brought welcome news to Elizabeth in the form of a telegram from Hamilton. Her in-laws wouldn't be arriving as expected.

With Jack's parents deciding to delay their trip to Hope Valley due to a minor crisis in shipping business which demanded Mr. Thornton's attention, Elizabeth concentrated on school and a planned class trip to the Cooper's farm. _Thank goodness someone at the company ordered 200 of the wrong size pallets and Jack's father has to fix it!_

 _If I just throw myself into work, I don't have to think about them visiting in a week_.

 _Don't think about the way she makes me break out in hives._

 _Don't think about how she criticizes my clothing._

 _Don't think about how she'll hate my cooking._

 _Don't think about what she thinks I'm doing in bed with her son._

* * *

Over the next few days, Elizabeth managed to have math, science, and vocabulary lessons revolve around the upcoming farm visit.

When Friday finally arrived, she gathered the eager children for their long walk to the small farmhouse and barn which was surrounded by five acres filled with rows of corn.

"Come along, children. Remember to be on your best behavior. Let's enjoy our trip to the farm!" she said enthusiastically.

 _This is what life should be like. Simple farms. Not servants and two bedrooms and rules about where to eat breakfast!_

 _Just nature and tranquility._

* * *

Three hours later, a frazzled Mr. and Mrs. Cooper shook their heads in bewilderment as Elizabeth herded the dirty and bedraggled children home.

Nothing had gone according to plan.

It had started simply enough. Mrs. Cooper had shown the children her vegetable garden and her son's prize winning heads of cabbage. She had explained that the "eyes" of potatoes were the roots and that green potatoes were not poisonous.

To the delight of the children, the farm woman had then let them feed buckets of slop filled with squash guts to the always hungry pigs.

"It feels like brains, Miss Thatcher", a little blond-hair girl exclaimed as she ran her fingers through the insides of the rotten squash.

"Actually, not quite, Melissa. The human brain looks more like a walnut with two halves. Although it is soft and squishy, it's not so liquid as this. This is too fluid. . . . And don't forget, it's Mrs. Thornton now that I married Constable Thornton."

"Class, the inside of a squash is more fluid than a brain. Can you all spell fluid?"

"F-L-U-I-D" the class answered in unison.

After feeding the pigs, the children had crowded into Mrs. Cooper's shed and seen how she made her infamous cheese. She proudly handed a very pungent piece of cheese to each student to nibble on as they went to the cornfield to meet her husband, Frank Cooper.

Elizabeth smiled at the children as they ran around the corn field playing hide and seek as they waited for Mr. Cooper who waved and made his way across the acres.

 _Life on a farm is so beautiful and peaceful_. _These children will have such happy memories of visiting a farm. Seeing the rows of cabbage heads, the ears of corn. The tall stalks swaying in the wind._

Ten minutes later Mr. Cooper, standing in the corn field and holding up an ear of corn, had been explaining to the children about fertilizer and how he added crushed bone meal to provide nutrients when Stevie pointed to the sky.

"Look, Miss Thatcher, a bunch of birds."

"They're crows, Miss Thatcher. I don't like crows", one of the small children complained loudly.

"Crows are fine, Samuel", she assured the worried child before addressing the other students." _For Pete's Sake, will they never remember that I'm Mrs. Thornton now?_

"But they're not called a 'bunch', class. A flock of crows actually has a very unusual name. It is sometimes called a murder. It's an old folk name. Can you all repeat that?"

"Murder!" the children dutifully responded.

"Miss Thatcher, I'm scared", a suddenly nervous Sally said as she looked up at the black birds flying furiously towards them.

"Oh, my. That is an awful large number of birds", Elizabeth remarked. "There must be fifty of them."

"Miss Thatcher, they're coming right to us!" one of the boys remarked, panic setting into his voice.

"Goodness, they do seem to be heading straight for us!"

Mr. Cooper smiled. "We don't need to worry about crows. Lookie here", he instructed as he walked over to a tall scarecrow and patted its straw-filled pants leg. "This here is Old Joe Cooper. He'll keep those pesky birds-"

Mr. Cooper didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as the large birds furiously descended on the scarecrow and began tearing it apart and squawking loudly.

"What the devil?" Mr. Cooper yelled in surprise as the children began running and screaming.

"It was the boys, Miss. Thatcher! They all put their yucky tasting cheese in Joe the scarecrow! And thew some in the cornfields!" Mary screamed as they ran from the murder.

* * *

By the time Elizabeth left the schoolhouse at the end of her workday, she had wiped Ethan's bloody nose that he got when he fell while running from the crows, calmed down the children, cleaned them up enough to send them home with notes to their parents about their unsettled appearances, and vowed to never take the children on another field trip. _Never again!_

By the time Jack left the jailhouse at the end of his workday, he was exhausted from paperwork. He hated the end-of-month reports he had to complete. Reports on the number of new settlers. Reports on the number of cases of mange he had seen. Reports on criminal activity. Reports on the weather conditions and the likelihood of forest fires. The paperwork had taken hours. It was a humid day and Jack swatted away mosquitoes as he walked up the steps and into the house.

* * *

"Hi, Jack". Elizabeth set down her journal and greeted her husband pleasantly as he took off his hat and hung it up inside the front door.

"How was your day?" Jack asked, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before she headed to the small kitchen area.

"I took the students out to the Cooper's farm."

"How was it?"

"We saw a murder. Do you want iced tea or lemonade?" she asked. Elizabeth got a glass down from the cupboard and moved to the icebox.

"Lemonade", Jack answered as he sat down to take off his boots. He suddenly paused and gave Elizabeth a puzzled look. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted iced tea or lemonade. You said lemonade. Why? Did you want iced tea instead."

"No. No. The other part! What did you see at the Coopers' farm?!"

"Oh, that. A murder. It was actually quite frantic. The children were screaming and yelling. Pushing each other out of the way. Little Jimmy Watkins was running around like his life depended on it. . . Jack, can you get that pot down for me from the top shelf? "

"Elizabeth! What happened at the Cooper farm?! What about a murder?" Jack asked urgently.

"I told you. It was rather frantic. Poor Old Joe Cooper. There were body parts everywhere", Elizabeth explained as she handed Jack a glass of lemonade.

"Joe Cooper?!"

"He was torn from limb to limb. The children were horrified. "

 _Who the heck is Old Joe Cooper?! He must be Frank Cooper's father. I never even met the man and he's dead! Dismembered?!_

"Elizabeth, are you in shock?" Jack worriedly asked as he stared at Elizabeth, who was now standing on her tiptoes and getting down the pot she needed.

 _We learned about this in the academy. People who witness something horrific can go into shock! I need to speak calmly. Get her to explain before I go investigate._

"Goodness, no. It's not the first murder I've seen, "Elizabeth answered simply.

 _Not the first murder she's seen?! I'm a Mountie and I've never even seen a murder!_

"But I have to admit it was rather hysterical . . . with the children screaming and running about. Little Lisa actually threw up. Although I'm not sure if that was from running from the murder. Or could have been from the cheese. What a mess the whole scene was."

"Elizabeth, you need to take your time and tell me what happened", Jack implored with concern as he watched Elizabeth now take out knife and begin to chop up a potato. _She's obviously been traumatized! That's why she's so calm. It's her way of dealing with the trauma._

"I told you. There was a murder. The students were scared and ran away from the scene. Then one of the girls slipped and fell in some guts and the next thing I knew, guts were flying everywhere. It was disgusting. The children kept yelling that it was brains. Melissa was screaming hysterically that she had brains in her hair."

Jack involuntarily gagged as he pictured the dead man's brains tangled in the young girl's hair.

His heart suddenly quickened when he noticed the long dark red smears on Elizabeth's white linen skirt.

"Elizabeth is that blood on your skirt?", he asked trying to keep his voice calm.

"Yes. I'll try to get it out later. It's nothing compared to the blood on Ethan's shirt. I told you the whole thing was quite messy. Why, that Parkins boy actually peed in his pants he was so scared when he was running from the murder. You should have read the notes I had to send home with the children."

"Elizabeth, I think you should sit down." Jack took the knife from Elizabeth's hand and firmly put his hands on her shoulders as he tried to lead her to a chair. _My God, what she must be going through!_

"I don't need to sit down. I'm making dinner," she replied dismissively as she gave a slight laugh and shrugged him away.

"Are the perpetrators still on the loose?!"

"Of course. They flew out of there once the damage was done. I think I saw one of them carrying poor old Joe Cooper's arm with him."

Jack hurriedly opened up his revolver, checked that the cylinder was fully loaded, and crossed the room. Grabbing his hat, he put his hand on the doorknob.

"Jack. Where are you going? I said I'm making dinner!"

"I've got to get to the Cooper farm."

"Whatever for?"

"To find out about this murder. You're obviously not able to deal with it!"

"Jack. Don't be silly. There's no evidence of it now. We cleaned it up. Except for some of the boys that refused to clean up because they were kicking a head around. . . .Mrs. Cooper was very upset. Running around after them. Yelling at the top of her lungs. Screaming that it was her son's head."

Jack cringed and stopped himself from gagging.

"A few of the girls were crying hysterically. Thinking they were going to be attacked", Elizabeth continued calmly as she wiped her hands on a dishtowel.

"Were any of the students injured?!" Jack asked as he swallowed the vomit that had come up in his mouth at the thought of the head being kicked around, and he gingerly removed his hand from his mouth.

"No, not really. One of the boys threw an ear he found on the ground and it hit another boy in the eye. Thank goodness he was fine. "

Jack suddenly felt nauseated again. "An ear? Someone threw an ear?"

"It was fine. No serious injury. Oh, and Billy scraped his knees when he fell in the bone pit."

"The bone pit?!"

"The crushed bones. Before they're buried in the fields. Do you want a salad with dinner?"

"I am so confused," Jack said sadly as he slumped in his chair and shook his head.

Elizabeth dumped the chopped potato cubes into a pot and looked over her shoulder at Jack.

"You have no idea how easy your job is compared to mine, Jack", she said pleasantly as she reached for the pepper mill.

* * *

That night as Jack lay in bed remembering Elizabeth's eventual more thorough explanation of the day's events, he wondered if anyone else could possibly have a wife as interesting as Elizabeth. Before Jack had ever gone to the academy to be a Mountie, his father had sat him down and given him a long talk about women. Mr. Thornton had told Jack about all sorts of women. Shy fragile women. Devious women. Strong women. Jealous women. Insecure women. Needy women. Supportive women. Independent women.

Somehow, Jack suspected that his father had never met a woman quite like Elizabeth.

* * *

When Elizabeth came home after the end of the school day the next afternoon, she was surprised to hear hammering coming from upstairs.

"Jack?" she called as she walked up the stairs.

"Hey, Jellybean. You're home. I'm not quite finished yet", a shirtless Jack said as he stopped hammering and looked at Elizabeth standing in the doorway.

Elizabeth smiled at his nickname for her, remembering the first bag of jellybeans she had ever eaten and how Jack said she was like a jellybean: sweet and yummy.

She looked around at the long pieces of wood, the headboard, the large mattress. "What are you doing?"

Jack smiled back at her. "I bought us a double bed! The parts were delivered today. Give me another 10 minutes and it will be ready."

"But Jack –"

"No buts. I am making sure that you are never able to push us apart."

Ten minutes later, Jack set down the hammer, heaved the mattress onto the newly constructed bedframe and watched as Elizabeth began putting the sheets on it.

"You can forget about the sheets. They're just going to end up on the floor like they usually do", he remarked humorously as he leaned against the dresser and took in the sight of Elizabeth in her tight fitting blouse.

Elizabeth chuckled. "A proper bed has sheets on it."

Jack walked across the small room and ran his hand along Elizabeth's waist, sending a tingling down her body.

As he leaned down to kiss her neck, his voice was low and husky. "I have no intention of being proper. Quite the contrary. I intend to do exceedingly improper things with your body. . . Provided you let me."

Elizabeth sighed in contentment as Jack moved his warm mouth along her neck.

"Jack-"

"Mm hmm", he murmured as his tongue moved on her.

"Your parents are coming this evening . . . " , she quietly reminded him, her voice trailing off as she enjoyed his touch.

"Actually, they're not. I got a telegram today", he explained quietly as he began unbuttoning her blouse.

"They've postponed their trip by another two weeks," he continued as his hands turned her around and undid her corset.

As Elizabeth let out her breath and relaxed her shoulders, Jack dropped the corset to the floor and began placing kisses on her back. His moist mouth starting between the shoulder blades and moving down her spine.

"Which mean we have two weeks to have totally improper behavior", he murmured as his hands moved to her front, caressing her soft skin.

 **Up next: Chapter 34**

 **Dear Readers: Thank you so much for your reviews. I appreciate you taking the time to let me know your opinions and motivating me to continue.**


	34. Chapter 34- Fairy Tales and Honey

**Chapter 34 – Fairy tales and Honey**

The sun was streaming in through the open window and Jack realized it was the perfect type of morning. Lying on the rumpled white sheets of his double bed with his wife in his arms. A sheet grazed her hips, leaving her bare back and the indentation at the base of her spine visible. The start of a day didn't get any better than this.

"What would you say if I told you that I wanted to spend my whole life protecting you and taking care of you?" Jack asked as he ran his fingers though Elizabeth's hair as she lay across his chest.

"I'd say you need a hobby."

Jack chuckled as Elizabeth scooted off of him and climbed out of bed. She picked up her wrinkled clothes from the floor, where they had been discarded the previous night.

"Seriously, Jack. Why would you want a woman who needed to be taken care of all the time?'

Jack put his arm behind his head as he remained lying in bed. Watching Elizabeth. She slipped her arms into the sleeves of her thin silk robe and pulled her hair out of her face, tying the tangled mess together with a simple ribbon.

"I used to think that was what most women wanted. All those women that write to you. Wanting a Mountie. A hero. And in every fairy tale there's a man rescuing a woman", Jack remarked as he watched her now put on her woolen slippers.

He found it adorable that despite the warm weather and her love of going barefoot outside, she felt most comfortable at home cuddled in her slippers.

"Those fairy tales are written by men. It wasn't exactly the _Sisters_ Grimm writing them. And those are so stupid! Look at Cinderella. I mean really. She spends the entire royal ball with this man and he can't even recognize her later. They probably talked the whole time they were dancing and yet he needs a stupid shoe to realize it was her?! Was he not listening to a word she said?!"

Jack chuckled as Elizabeth continued with her rant while getting ready for her school day.

"Life is not a fairy tale and I am not a princess. If I were Cinderella, I would have taken the glass slipper from his hand and banged him on the head with it!"

* * *

Hours later, Elizabeth politely said goodbye to the equally polite but distant couple as she walked down the steps of the small cabin on the edge of town. She normally enjoyed visiting the students at their homes. Getting a better understanding of them and their family life. But today's meeting had been tense. Stevie's father was too tough on the boy and his mother was too meek to stand up for herself or her son.

As Elizabeth walked toward the Saloon to meet Jack, she felt the drops of rainwater hitting her shoulders and dampening her curls.

* * *

When the door to the Saloon opened, Jack looked up from his conversation with Clint Blackthorn. Without thinking, Jack's face broke into a smile at the sight of his wife. She smiled back at him as she wiped drops of water from her forehead and cheeks and walked towards his table.

Noticing her wet appearance, Jack looked at the open door behind her and then to the window. Expecting to see rain, he was surprised to see the sun shining brightly.

"Where've you been?", he asked curiously when Elizabeth reached the table.

"I was at the McPherson house. Mr. McPherson is so strict with his son that I was hoping to get him to take off some of the pressure. It didn't go very well. And then by the time I left, the devil was beating his wife. It only lasted a few minutes.

"That's the second time this week", Clint remarked.

Elizabeth nodded as she picked up the glass in front of Jack and took a sip. "I know. It's surprising to have it occur twice in one week."

 _A woman was getting beaten!_ Jack looked back and forth between Elizabeth and Clint in confusion. _They act like it's not a big deal!_

"I like it when it happens", Clint remarked. "I'm sorry I missed it."

Jack looked at Clint in bewilderment. "Sorry?"

"Sorry, you missed it?!" Jack repeated. _What kind of creep is he?_ Jack thought as he looked at the cowboy and Elizabeth who were were both now looking at Abigail as she brought over freshly baked cookies to sample.

"I agree", Elizabeth said pleasantly as she took a cookie from the plate. "It's refreshing. It always makes me feel good when it happens."

Jack looked at his wife in shock.

"Makes you feel _good_ when a man beats his wife?" Jack repeated in bafflement.

"Don't be silly, Jack. You know what I'm talking about."

When Clint dropped a cookie and bent down to pick it up, Elizabeth looked surreptitiously at Jack.

"And you of all people should know how much I would enjoy it!" she said to him under her breath.

Jack stared at her for a moment but Elizabeth had already turned her attention to Abigail and was asking her about her day _._

 _She's doing it to me again! She's being all small-town girl without realizing it. I am not going to embarrass myself in front of Clint. . . . Think Jack! Just think. You've misunderstood. It's like that silly goat kid and nanny or the murder of crows. . . . The devil is beating his wife. It happened twice this week. It's refreshing. It can't be that hard to figure out what she's talking about. . . . Okay this is hard. I have no idea what she's talking about!_

* * *

"A sunshower?"

"Of course."

"Why didn't you just say it was a sunshower?!" Jack questioned in exasperation after Clint had walked away from the table.

Elizabeth shrugged as she spread the cloth napkin onto her lap. "That's not what people say."

"Yes, that _is_ what people say!" Jack exclaimed. "When it's raining outside while the sun is shining, they say it's a _sunshower_!"

"Not where I come from. They just say 'the devil is beating his wife'. The devil's upset because the sun is shining so he beats his wife and the rain is her tears."

"I have _never_ heard that expression", Jack said adamantly.

"They say it all the time in Aberdeen," Elizabeth said matter-of-factly as she looked at Jack's frustrated face.

"Ask Clint."

"I don't care what Clint says", Jack retorted.

"Suit yourself", Elizabeth said with a simple shrug. "For goodness sakes, it makes more sense than what they say in Finland."

"What do they say in Finland?" Jack was almost afraid to ask but he did anyway.

"The foxes are taking a bath or something silly like that. Now that makes no sense."

Jack shook his head in bewilderment. _How did we grow up so differently?!_

* * *

The next morning, Jack looked out the window at the overcast skies. _No sunshowers today. And no sunny disposition for Elizabeth either,_ he realized as he watched her nervously pace the room. Wiping away imaginary dust with her hand. Moving objects one inch to the right and then one inch to the left. Fluffing the couch pillows that didn't need fluffing.

"Okay, Elizabeth, come here. Come here. Sit down. Sit", he ordered as he put his hands on her shoulders and led her to a chair.

"Now, take a deep breath in through your nose. . . . And out through your mouth. There. Now, don't you feel better?"

"No! They're coming in two days. I never seem to do or say the right thing. I think your mother likes me and then she pays me a compliment which usually turns out not to be a compliment after all."

"She does like you. You just need to see things her way. Maybe go along with some of her suggestions. You'll be fine. Now have some breakfast with me."

"In a minute. I need to decide what to wear when they arrive."

Five minutes later Elizabeth came downstairs. "What do you think of this one? For when your parents arrive", she asked as she spread out her arms, giving Jack a full view of her outfit.

Jack looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Nope. Not that one. It makes me think of having sex with you", he said casually before returning his attention to the newspaper.

Elizabeth looked down at her skirt and blouse and frowned. "Oh yeah. This one does."

Five minutes later when she came downstairs again, Jack was on his second cup of coffee.

"What about this one?"

"Nope. That one makes me think of having sex with you too", he noted as he set down his coffee cup. "Are you going to sit and eat?"

"Not yet. Let me try on another outfit", she said as she turned and hurried up the stairs.

Jack was putting his dishes in the sink when Elizabeth came downstairs for the third time. She was wearing a pale blue skirt with an ivory blouse. The low-cut style drawing attention to her pale bare skin beneath her neck.

"No. Not that one", Jack told her as he looked over his shoulder at her.

"Sex?"

"Yep."

Elizabeth sighed and went back upstairs.

When Elizabeth came down again and walked into the front room, wearing a skirt made of inexpensive fabric and a plain white high-collared blouse, Jack continued slipping on his boots but looked up at her.

"No", he said simply.

"Why?!" a startled Elizabeth asked. _This one is so simple. He can't possibly want to have sex with me. Even I have to admit this is totally unsexy! I practically fell asleep from boredom just putting it on._

"It's kind of dull and its one you made. My mother will think you have no taste in fashion and she'll make some comment and you'll get upset."

"Sorry, Jack, but this is the one I'm wearing when they arrive. It's comfortable and proper. I'm not gonna change to fit into your family."

"I didn't ask you to", he countered.

"That's exactly what you're asking me to do! You're asking me to change. You just thought I needed to change outfits!"

"I'm just saying maybe you can pretend to be interested in the same fashion as her. And some of the other things she's involved in. She said that you weren't even interested in going to the Country Club the next time we're in town.

"I didn't want to become someone I'm not just to please your mother."

"This isn't about changing you and this isn't about pleasing my mother. This is about having a pleasant visit with my family. I don't want you having hostility. They say you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. I gotta go", he said with a smile. "Did you make me lunch?"

"No, I didn't. Sorry."

"No problem", he said as he kissed her on the cheek and reached for his hat. "Remember, honey, Elizabeth."

* * *

 _Honey._

 _We'll have delicious honey on our toast for breakfast when they visit. And honey in their tea._

 _So maybe Jack wasn't talking literally about honey, but so what._

 _Maybe we'll even make honey face-masks for our skin! Like Violet and Julie and I used to do for fun!_

 _I'll have a sleep-over and face-masks with my mother-in-law! And she'll like me!_

Elizabeth wadded some paper under the sticks in the metal bucket, took the box of matches, a pair of thick gloves, and a smaller bucket, and headed towards the riverbanks where she had discovered a beehive earlier in the week.

As she walked down the path toward the river, Matthew, one of her students, ran on his little legs to catch up to her. Happy for the company, Elizabeth allowed the five-year old to accompany her after first making him promise to stay away from the water.

* * *

"Now stay back, Matthew. You shouldn't get too close. We're going to trick these bees so I can take a piece of their honeycomb. The smoke confuses them and they won't leave the hive or sting me because they're going to try to swallow as much honey as possible. But I'm going to reach over and take some before they get wise to me."

"Be careful, Miss Thatcher", the little boy cautioned as he curiously watched his teacher light the bucketful of paper and green wood on fire.

"We want it nice and smoky!"

Elizabeth jerked her head to the right when a bee flew towards her, but she kept her hand with the smoking bucket near the hive. With her gloved other hand, she swatted away another bee and then determinedly reached over and forcefully broke off a piece of honeycomb

"Look at this, Matthew" she called out as turned to where he had last been standing.

"Matthew! Get away from the river!", she ordered as she dropped the honeycomb in the small empty bucket next to her and hurried over to him.

* * *

The pain was immediate.

As Elizabeth screamed and fell to the ground, she wasn't sure what had happened.

Her first thought was that she had been bit.

But a snake bite wouldn't have been this enduring.

This painful. This intense.

She caught her breath at the same time her heart started pounding.

Elizabeth lifted her face from the dirt and propped herself up on one elbow before turning her body over.

Except for her leg.

She couldn't get it to turn with her.

"Are you okay, Miss Thatcher?" a worried Matthew asked as he ran over and stood by her head.

* * *

Elizabeth couldn't hold back the tears any more. Not wanting to scare the little boy, she held them back until Matthew had turned and run to get help. Now, she let the salty tears flow freely down her flushed cheeks.

The steel bars and spring were rusted, evidence of being left unattended in the elements for months.

Some trapper, perhaps too busy or in a hurry, or maybe moving away, had forgotten the trap after setting it in the winter months.

Elizabeth knew that the best beaver pelts were found in the winter and she was surprised that the trap had managed to stay unsprung all this time. It had stayed quietly hidden in the tall wild plants until her delicate foot, encased in a short leather boot, had stepped on it.

Elizabeth, awkwardly sitting on the ground, pulled on the contraption but it was useless. The heavy metal bars, despite their rust, were as strong as ever. Clamping tightly against her boot, the bars refused to yield to her desperate attempt to free herself.

She would have to wait for Jack to rescue her.

Elizabeth leaned back. Collapsing her body into the now matted dirt and grass. She squinted shut her eyes but the tears continued to roll out the corners of her closed lids. Wetness rolling down her face, over her ears, and into the ground

"Hurry, Jack. Please come rescue me."

* * *

"Mountie Jack."

'Hello, Matthew, what can I do for you?"

The little boy stopped and looked around. He had always been interested in the jailhouse. The cell, the wanted posters, the Mountie dog. All so interesting to a five year old boy. For a moment he forgot about his teacher lying on the ground. She couldn't have been too hurt he reasoned. She hadn't even cried. Just given him instructions on what to tell the constable.

"Miss Thatcher and I was out walking."

Jack smiled. "You mean Mrs. Thornton. She's married to me now."

The little boy nodded as he looked at Jack's Mountie hat and ran his finger along the brim. Jack picked it up from his desk and put it on the boy's head.

"Did you and Mrs. Thornton have a nice walk?"

"Hmmm."

"Did you want something, Matthew?" Jack asked patiently as he took his hat back with a smile.

"Miss Thatcher –"

"Mrs. Thornton", Jack corrected again.

"She said for me to tell you that she was smoking some bees and her boot got trapped."

"She said what?"

"She was smoking some bees and got her boot in a beaver trap."

 _Smoking some bees and got her boot in a beaver trap?_ Jack chuckled. _I don't even want to guess what that means. This rich city boy has learned his lesson enough times. I'll let her explain this one to me over dinner._

"Well thank you for telling me, Matthew. Now you head on home now. I'm sure your mother is wondering where you are."

* * *

Elizabeth wasn't sure how much time had passed but she estimated it had been at least forty minutes.

 _Where is Jack?_

She lay hot and thirsty and in excruciating pain on the ground. Swatting away the bees that flew around her face. She lifted her head and saw a fly land on her boot but she was too tired from the throbbing ache in her ankle to sit up and swat it away. Instead she moved her leg to dislodge the fly but immediately winced from the a new wave of shooting pain.

 _I hope Jack's okay. He should have been finished with rounds and back at the jailhouse. Why is it taking him so long?_

 _Damn, this hurts._

Elizabeth's body shuddered from the pain as her silent tears continued.

It was useless to try to crawl through the knee high wild skunk cabbage leaves that grew along the banks and had hidden the trap. She could see now that the trap which imprisoned her was secured to a tree trunk 10 feet away with a thin metal chain. She could never make it back to the path.

 _I can't take this much longer_ , she thought as she pressed her hands into the ground and let out a loud sob of despair.

Elizabeth didn't think the situation could get any worse.

Until she heard the thunder rolling in.

* * *

Jack finished his paperwork, closed his desk drawer, and headed across the street to the Saloon to meet Elizabeth for dinner.

He was on his third game of darts when the Saloon door opened and several people entered. They eyed him curiously. Almost critically he would have realized if he had given it much more thought.

"Jack, what are you doing in here?"

"Just relaxing until dinner. Why? What's up?", Jack responded to Tim Smyth as the man walked over and looked at him in surprise.

"Didn't you hear about Elizabeth? I ran into the little Clarkson boy. He said he told you," the older man said as he gave Jack a puzzled look.

Jack took his time eyeing the center of the dartboard and then released the small metal missile with a powerful throw before casually responding. "Yeah. I heard. "

The man gave Jack a look of disbelief. "And you didn't do anything? You're not doing anything?"

Jack gave Tim a smile. "Nah. I figure she'll get here when she gets here. I'll wait for her explanation."

"Her explanation? She was smoking a beehive and got her boot trapped."

"You know Elizabeth. She's always got something interesting going on", he remarked as he walked over and pulled his darts out of the board. "Want to join me and Adam in a game?"

"Jack. Did you hear what I said happened to Elizabeth?!"

"To tell you the truth. I don't have a clue what 'smoking a beehive and got her boot in a trap means'", Jack admitted with a chuckle and a shrug of his shoulders.

"I think it means she was smoking a beehive and got her boot caught in a trap", Mr. Smyth said in disgust at Jack's lack of concern.

"What do you mean?" Jack called out after the man who had now turned and was walking away.

"Don't worry about it, Jack. Clint Blackthorn already went to help her over fifteen minutes ago. I sent the doctor to meet them at your place. You just get back to playing your darts," Tim replied angrily over his shoulder. "And I thought you were the right man for her."

As Jack hurried through the Saloon, he heard the comments around him.

"I guess the honeymoon's over."

"He just left her there. In this heat and humidity. With her leg trapped."

"And a storm's coming!"

"Thank goodness for Clint."

"I don't reckon the Constable's marriage will last much after this."

* * *

Jack dropped the darts on the nearby table and hurried out the Saloon door. In the distance, he could see Clint and Elizabeth riding on Clint's horse towards the row of houses.

 _Elizabeth!_

As Jack ran down the street, he watched as Clint dismounted from his horse, and then reached up to Elizabeth. Putting his strong hands on her tiny waist. The cowboy lowered her off the horse and in one flowing move had positioned her securely in his arms. Jack noticed Elizabeth's arms wrap around Clint's neck as the man carried Jack's wife up the steps to their home and across the threshold.

As he almost reached his home, Jack moved past the curious on-lookers.

"He's such a hero." Suzanne Gowen practically swooned when she saw Clint.

Turning angrily to Jack, she continued, "Keep your wife under control! He's mine!"

Jack stopped and took in the scene.

This wasn't like any fairy tale he had ever read.

The handsome man of muscles, riding high on his horse, had rushed in and saved the pretty damsel in distress. With her flowing skirt and tousled hair, she had held tightly to the hero's waist as they had ridden back to town. And then, he had swooped her into his strong arms as if she weighed no more than a feather.

It should have been Jack who saved Elizabeth. He should have been the hero of the day.

But it wasn't him.

Instead, Elizabeth's former fiancé, the dashing cowboy who had followed her all the way to Hope Valley to win her heart last year, had now saved her life.

While a care-free Jack had been busy playing a lazy game of darts. Ignoring his injured wife's pleas for help.

* * *

"Why didn't you come get me? I sat in that ditch for an hour!", Elizabeth exclaimed after the doctor had finished bandaging her leg and left.

Thankfully, her boot had provided enough protection that her leg wasn't broken. Just severely bruised and sprained. It had swelled immediately when Clint had removed the boot after releasing her from the trap and Elizabeth had come home with her swollen leg encased only in a sock. The damaged boot had been carelessly forgotten at scene.

"I didn't think you were hurt", he explained defensively.

"I thought that Matthew told you that I was. Didn't he tell you what happened? I sent him to tell you."

"He did", Jack said guiltily.

"I don't understand. You didn't come get me. What were you doing?" The confusion was evident in her voice.

"Um. Paperwork.", he said quietly.

"Paperwork? I was sitting in the mud by the riverbank with my foot smashed in a metal beaver trap and you were doing _paperwork?_!"

"And playing darts", he said in a barely audible voice.

"Darts?!"

Jack nodded sheepishly and then hurried to get her a drink.

"Why didn't you come get me?", she asked again as she moved her bandaged leg gingerly against the block of ice upon which it rested.

"I. . . I . . . I didn't believe you were trapped."

"But why not? Matthew told you. I sent him to tell you what happened. I've never lied to you!"

"Because you always say weird things!" Jack exclaimed.

Elizabeth furrowed her brow and drew back. "I always say weird things?" she asked in puzzlement

"Yes!" Jack said hurriedly. "You've said you had a kid that fainted all the time when it was really a baby goat. And you think the name Betsy sounds like a woman who bakes pies all day. And then you said that you saw a murder of crows at the Cooper farm. And that bit about a devil beating his wife!"

Jack's words came out in a flurry once he started to defend himself. "And well, you don't just say weird things, you do weird things! Like making a compass out of a needle and silk and a leaf! And catching a raccoon with something sparkly! And you wanted to get kidnapped on our wedding night!

Jack finished speaking and looked at Elizabeth expectantly. _There. I think I explained that pretty well. Of course, she'll see my point of view._

Elizabeth stared at Jack for a moment before speaking slowing and deliberately. "So . . . this is _my_ fault?

"Well . . . yes. And you make weird food, too!", he threw in for good measure.

"Weird food?"

"You made me eat scrapple one time!"

"Scrapple is a real meal! People in Aberdeen eat it all the time!"

"It's still weird", Jack reiterated as he tried to defend himself. S _he has to realize she is kind of different from women I'm used to! Heck, she's different than anyone I've ever met._

"Just what did you think I meant when I told Matthew to tell you that I had been smoking some bees and stepped in a beaver trap?" Elizabeth asked curiously. Despite her pain, she managed to keep her voice in an even controlled tone which a naive Jack took as a relatively good sign.

 _Oh man. She would ask me that._

"I really didn't think anything about it. I kind of just smiled and forgot about it", Jack admitted guiltily.

When Jack saw the look of horror on Elizabeth's face, he realized he said the wrong thing.

"You just _smiled_?! And _forgot_ about it?!"

"Now, Elizabeth. Don't get yourself upset. You need to rest your leg. I didn't mean to say that. That wasn't a good choice of words. It was just weird what you said about smoking a beehive. So I didn't give it a second thought."

"You didn't give me a second thought?!"

"No! Not you. What you said!"

Elizabeth furrowed her brow. "What is so strange about smoking a beehive?"

Jack gave her a bewildered look. "You have got to be kidding me? Who smokes a beehive?!"

"How else are you going to get the honey out?!"

"You just go to the store and buy it!" Jack exclaimed.

Elizabeth stared at Jack for a moment before speaking.

"So I _say_ weird things, _do_ weird things, and _make_ weird food. Of course. Why didn't I realize that it was all _my_ fault that I was stepped in a beaver trap—

"See that's another thing! It's not even beaver trapping season!"

"So it's my fault that a trapper left his trap out?!"

"No, of course not. I'm just saying –"

"Let me continue, Jack. It's my fault . . . because I do weird things, say weird things, and cook weird food . . . that my husband, who happens to be the town Mountie, ignored my pleas for help. But then he was busy doing paperwork and playing darts. How silly of me. I guess he does have an excuse after all."

"Yes!" Jack said in relief.

 _Whew, I thought she'd be madder. That went much better than I imagined. Of course she understood once I explained it,_ he thought with a relieved smile _._

"Well. I'm glad we got that ironed out. I'll make us some dinner." Jack smiled at his wife, who sat in the chair at the kitchen table staring at him. "Sweetie, you just sit there and rest your leg", he continued as he went to the icebox.

"Jack, darling", Elizabeth said in icy politeness. " Perhaps you missed the sarcasm in my voice."

* * *

 **An hour after Elizabeth came home**

"Elizabeth, will you please unlock the bedroom door? I said I'm sorry!" Jack pleaded as he knocked again on the closed door.

"You didn't have to crawl up the steps. I would have carried you! If you had just let me touch you!"

When Elizabeth didn't respond, Jack muttered "You let Clint touch you."

Jack cringed and hurried down the steps as Elizabeth's angry declaration that Clint had rescued her penetrated the door and echoed in his ears reminding him of his own failure.

* * *

 **An hour and a half after Elizabeth came home**

"Sweetie, I made you dinner. It's just a sandwich but I didn't know what else to make. . .

. . . Okay, you're not answering. I'm getting hungry. I didn't get lunch because you forgot to pack me a . . . um. . . Never mind. So I'm just going to go eat. I'll just leave yours outside the door for you."

* * *

 **Two hours after Elizabeth came home**

"Elizabeth, I'm back. I went to look for your hair comb that you dropped when you were stuck in the trap and –". His voice trailed off as he spoke through the closed door.

 _Probably best not to mention the trap_.

"I found it! . . . your hair comb. I know it's one of your favorites. It's not even damaged! I'll just push it under the door for you. I got your other boot back too."

"I got stung by two bees when I was looking for it. But don't worry, I'm okay. If you're not too busy . . . um . . maybe you could help me put something on them? They kind of sting a little bit."

Jack immediately smacked himself in the head with his hand. _Idiot! Why did I say my bee stings hurt?! They're nothing compared to her leg wound!_

* * *

 **Two and a half hours after Elizabeth came home**

"Elizabeth, so . . . I listened to you. When you said that I was a Mountie and could treat my own "stupid" bee stings. I put a paste of baking soda and water on them. Do you want to look at them?

Jack's question was answered with silence.

"Well, I guess you're busy in there. I'll just go clean up the mess I made in the kitchen", he said glumly.

* * *

 **Three hours after Elizabeth came home**

"Elizabeth, Tim Smyth stopped by and dropped off some school stuff for you. Apparently you called out the window to him when he was passing by and asked him to bring it to you. I would have gotten it for you if I had known you wanted it. I guess this means that you still don't want to talk to me. I mean I'm just guessing . . .but I would think that's what it means . . . I'll put it all by the door here."

* * *

 **Three and a half hours after Elizabeth came home**

"Elizabeth, thank you, sweetie, for telling me that you were throwing my pajamas out the window for me. That was nice of you to tell me. I got them. But . . . And I don't mean to complain, but they landed in a puddle under the window. . .

Um, if you're not mad at me anymore, maybe you could unlock the bedroom door."

* * *

 **Four hours after Elizabeth came home**

"Elizabeth, I listened to your suggestion and I washed my pajamas myself. . . and they're drying by the stove. Thank you for your suggestion about that.

I made us some tea if you want to come down. It's cinnamon tea. I know you like that. It always makes you . you know. Well, I'll be downstairs."

 _Idiot! Why did I hint that me tasting like cinnamon tea makes her want to make love! She's obviously not in the mood for that! . . . At least I don't think she is._

* * *

 **Four and a half hours after Elizabeth came home**

Elizabeth, Of course you're right. It's not your fault that Rip chewed my toothbrush. It's just that when you slipped it under the door for me, I didn't notice it until he came down the steps eating it. Can you please open the door ? Maybe I can use your toothbrush?

. . .

Yes, you're right. Of course, you're right. I am rich enough to buy another toothbrush. But, sweetie, the mercantile is closed now. It's late."

* * *

 **Five hours after Elizabeth came home**

Jack wearily leaned his head against the bedroom door and softly rapped his fist on the wood. He didn't know if Elizabeth was still awake.

If the door had been made of glass instead of a one-inch thick piece of wood, Jack would have seen Elizabeth quietly jump up from the bed and wince as she put her foot on the floor. She moved across the room and leaned her head gently against her side of the door, listening to the despair in his soft voice.

"Elizabeth, I love you", he said gently. "I love every part of you. Every single weird thing you say and do makes me love you even more. I never knew how much I wanted you until I met you. I know that sounds silly. But I could live my whole live and never find anyone as perfect for me as you are. I love you."

Jack was so surprised when the door opened that he almost fell forward.

He stood still. Not daring to touch her. Not daring to say anything.

Afraid to break the moment as she moved closer. Afraid to do something wrong. Afraid she may still be mad.

"That's all you had to say, you silly man", Elizabeth said softly as she cupped Jack's face with her hand.

Her eyes, mere inches from his, were watery. He didn't know if that was from the pain in her leg or the emotions in her heart.

Just before their lips touched, she gently whispered in a voice that made his pulse quicken, "What took you so long?"

As Jack felt the warmth of her lips and he wrapped his arms around her, he realized that perhaps it was like a fairy tale after all.

 **Up next: Chapter 35**

Dear Readers: The first time I heard the expression "The devil's beating his wife", I had no idea what the person was saying to me! It really is an expression. Also, I used dialogue from three episodes in this chapter. Did you spot it all?


	35. Chapter 35 - The Signs

**Chapter 35 – The Signs**

Elizabeth, hobbling on her sprained ankle, swept the wooden floor of the small house for the third time. Despite Jack's assurance that the house was perfectly tidy, her stomach was still jumbled with nerves. The in-laws were arriving in less than four hours. The train would speed them along as far as Union City, and from there they would get the stagecoach to Hope Valley.

Elizabeth mentally did a check of the house. Cleaned of dust. Icebox full of food and a pitcher of iced tea. A freshly baked cake sitting atop the sparkling crystal cake stand her mother-in-law had sent as a gift. Muffins in the basket on the counter and covered with a gingham cloth napkin. Vase full of fresh water in the center of the table. _Or do I say Vaahz_? _Oh, who cares._ Curtains pulled back to let in the sunlight.

 _Good. This is good. It's a proper house. . . . Maybe there's no honey in the cupboard for breakfast, but its a proper house!_

 _And the front porch furniture is perfect._

 _No matter what Jack said!_

On his way home from work yesterday, Jack had caught Elizabeth supporting herself with a crutch and haggling with Mr. Bennett over the price of the two chairs and small table on the old man's porch.

Well, not so much haggling over the price as the fact that the man refused to sell them.

"But I need them!" Elizabeth had explained to the man after she had seen the items on the porch while walking by the Bennett house. "What is so hard to understand?! My in-laws are visiting and I only have two chairs on my front porch!"

When Jack had approached the arguing pair, Elizabeth was sure that he would be able to talk some sense into Mr. Bennett. Instead, she recognized the deadpan look he got on his face when he was trying hard not to laugh at her. And finally, his face broke into a wide grin when she whispered to him that maybe he could threaten Mr. Bennett with an arrest of some kind.

"An arrest? For what?"

"I don't know. For something. Can't you just pretend he's done something illegal? So he'll be nice to me," she had said under her breath as she leaned in close to Jack.

"No. I cannot. Why is it that we need Mr. Bennett's furniture?" he had asked between chuckles.

"Because no one else in town has anything suitable and we only have two chairs", she explained as if it were obvious. "If the weather's nice and we want to sit outside on the porch and look at the Tiffany blue ceiling and eat a meal, we need more furniture!"

"So it's Tiffany blue. I thought it was Robin's egg blue," Jack had said with a smirk.

"When your mother is here, it's Tiffany blue and don't you dare tell her anything different. I don't want her thinking I'm a small town girl."

"You are a small town girl," Jack had reminded her.

"Hush. We need more furniture. Our porch needs to be like a fancy veranda your parents are used to. I will not have your mother thinking I cannot make a proper home for her son."

"Well, move back with your crutch. The poor man looks terrified that you're going to hit him", Jack ordered as he pulled out his wallet. "And as much as I'd like to keep you locked up sometimes, this weekend is not the appropriate time for us to try that again."

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth had happily arranged the furniture on the couple's front porch while Mr. Bennett had happily stopped by the bank to deposit an exceedingly large amount of money.

 _Jack being rich certainly did come in handy! . . .Of course, if he wasn't rich, he wouldn't have rich parents. And if he didn't have rich parents, we wouldn't have needed the front porch furniture in the first place,_ Elizabeth thought with a puzzling frown as she now swept under the table.

 _And I swear Jack was giving me that look. The one I have a sneaky suspicion he gets when he wonders how in the world he ended up married to me. . . . Actually, it's not just a sneaky suspicion. I heard him say it aloud one time!_ she remembered with a crinkled brow.

* * *

When the front door opened, Elizabeth stopped moving the broom back and forth and looked up as Jack walked across the threshold. "Don't get dirt on the floor", she remarked quickly.

"Did you get fresh flowers? Where are they?" she asked, noticing his hands were empty except for two small pieces of paper. "I've got a vase ready."

"The train derailed. Outside of Colter City. A bridge had collapsed. The train went off the tracks as it braked to avoid going into the river", a stunned Jack said as he handed her two telegrams.

Elizabeth glanced at the thin sheets of paper. Trying to hurriedly comprehend the bold typed letters as Jack continued to talk.

"The first one's asking for assistance from Mounties who can get there. A train full of upset and injured passengers stuck in one town for who knows how long is chaos. The second one's from my father. Thank goodness, he and mom are fine. Just banged up a bit."

* * *

Jack had decided he would leave almost immediately. The weather was good for riding and Hope Valley was fairly quiet. The mill workers tended to be well-behaved, especially since many more had come with families. There was no reason Jack couldn't leave for a few days or even a week.

It was too late to make it to Colter City by nightfall, but he could get within an hour or two's riding distance of the town before darkness set in. The ride the following morning would be a short trip after that.

Elizabeth had decided at once that she was going with him.

"They're my family too. I can't do much here. Limping around on one leg. But I can certainly ride a horse. And then keep your mum company in Colter City."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. And I know it's named Colter _City_ , but it's no more than a town. It will need protection from your mother when she finds out how tiny it is."

* * *

"What do you call this?" Jack asked as Elizabeth dangled her bare feet over Jack's arm. He was carrying her back to the simple campsite which they had set up near a grove of trees after riding for hours.

Moving away from the slow moving stream, Jack nimbly stepped on the large gray rocks, careful to avoid putting his feet in the cracks or on unsteady rocks as he held Elizabeth securely in his arms.

"Call what?" she responded curiously as she kept one arm loosely wrapped around his neck.

"When a husband carries his wife with a sprained ankle to a creek to wash her hands after dinner," he answered with a chuckle. "I figure you have a quaint expression for everything else. You must have one for this."

"I do have one", she responded with a smile as she reached her other hand to his head. Her fingers touching his hair in a way that always made him tingle with warmth and feel good.

"Love."

The corners of Jack's mouth turned up in a smile and he stopped watching where he was stepping to look in her light blue eyes. He adored the way she seemed to be able to make them shine with happiness.

There was no doubt that what they had was called love.

* * *

The fire crackled as Jack put several more dead branches on the glowing flames.

"That should keep us warm for a couple hours", he said as he broke another piece of wood over his knee before adding it to the burning pile.

"You've got enough to keep us warm for two winters", she chuckled.

"You should lie down. You were up hours before me this morning. I'll stay up for a while and add some more branches before I turn in," Elizabeth offered.

* * *

"Tell me a story", Jack said. He lay stretched out on his side, his body propped up on one elbow. The moonlight shined through the fabric of the tent as the fire outside kept the animals away.

"A story? Like a fairy tale? Or a ghost story?" Elizabeth questioned.

"No. One of yours. Something I haven't read yet."

Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. "Okay," she said with a shrug. "I just finished a draft of one. Let me get my notebook."

Jack chuckled as Elizabeth got up and gingerly walked out of the tent, hobbling the short distance over to one of the horses, and pulling a leather-bound notebook out of her saddle bag. She struggled for a moment as she dislodged the book from the other contents of the saddle bag, which included an extra skirt and blouse, two pairs of socks, a hair brush, and a nightdress for when she was in Colter City.

"Why am I not surprised you have your notebook with you."

"Because you know me."

She smiled as she sat back down next to him. Leaving the tent flap open so that the light from the fire shared the entrance to the tent with the married couple.

Elizabeth bent her knees flat on the grass, her feet together and off to one side, and patted her lap, indicating for Jack to rest his head.

"This is fiction. I used my name for the character just because I haven't come up with a good name for her yet. But I used your wealthy upbringing and your mansion. I imagined what it would be like living there from stuff you've told me and from my visits. It's about why the main character became a teacher."

Jack lay on his back on the thin blanket over the matted grass. Resting his head in Elizabeth's lap as he looked up at her.

Elizabeth leaned her head down and gave her adoring husband a smile and quick kiss.

After all their time together, she still didn't know which one of them adored the other one more. She didn't think anyone could love someone as much as she loved Jack. But somehow, he always managed to make her believe that he loved her just as much.

"You try to fall asleep while I read", she said sweetly.

The fire provided limited light, but Elizabeth knew the story so well that she realized that she didn't really need her notebook.

Jack relaxed and closed his eyes. Settling down in comfort to listen to his wife's voice as she read her latest story in the otherwise quiet woods.

The story of why a wealthy young lady, the daughter of a shipping magnate, from the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada became a teacher.

 **The Signs by Elizabeth Thornton**

 **Elizabeth Thatcher grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her along as she ran from the front parlor room in her frilly new dress, which had been purchased from the finest boutique in Hamilton especially for her 7th birthday.**

" **Upstairs. Hurry. Before my mother makes me sit and talk to Aunt Agatha."**

" **Can I see all your presents?" the brown-haired girl in the simple frock asked excitedly and slightly out of breath as they reached the top of the grand staircase and then hurried down the long hallway.**

" **Of course! You're my best friend!" Elizabeth responded. "I'm sorry you couldn't come to my party. Grown-ups are so stupid."**

 **Alice, the girl in the hand-me-down dress wasn't upset that she hadn't been invited to Miss Elizabeth Thatcher's birthday party. She knew that it wouldn't have been proper. Just like it had never occurred to the adults to let Elizabeth attend Alice's simple birthday celebrations across town in the tenement where she lived.**

 **Although she was only seven, Alice had already learned the basic facts of life. Elizabeth was rich. Alice was poor. It was what it was. Besides, the cook had saved her a piece of Elizabeth's birthday cake and it even had a flower made of sugar paste on it! Cook had promised to send it home with her when Alice's mother, Mrs. Sutton, who worked in the mansion, finished her duties for the day.**

" **Here, you hold this dolly and I'll hold this one", Elizabeth said as she grabbed the dolls and climbed onto her bed. "I'll read to us first."**

" **Is that a new book you got as a present?" Alice asked as she squished her body up next to Elizabeth. An expensive doll on each of their laps. "Ooh, I like the pictures. They're so pretty."**

" **I'll read but I want you to try too. Okay?"**

* * *

" **Pssst. Alice? Can you hear me?" A ten-year old Elizabeth called down the dumbwaiter shaft. Her voice echoing as it traveled through the shaft in the wall meant to carry trays of food between the first floor kitchen and the elegantly decorated room upstairs.**

 **"What's up?" Alice responded conspiratorially as she leaned into the small paneled opening in the kitchen wall. Her head covered with a simple maid's kerchief.**

" **My French teacher fell asleep again. I'm going to come down to play. Can you get away?"**

 **Alice hesitated. "I still have to polish the silverware. Your parents are having a big dinner party tomorrow night."**

 **Five minutes later, the two girls sat at the small table in the back of the kitchen. "I hate polishing but it's better than French lessons", Elizabeth giggled as she wiped a cloth along a silver candlestick.**

" **I wish you could come to my lessons with me. Maybe not French because you don't need that. But I wish you were with me for reading and writing and math. Violet's so irritating and Julie never pays attention. Promise me you'll keep practicing reading at home, okay?"**

" **I promise", Alice answered solemnly as she picked up the gravy boat and began to rub it vigorously with the gray cloth in her hand.**

* * *

" **Miss Elizabeth, is there something I can get for you?" the plump woman in the apron asked as the thirteen year-old daughter of the wealthy family that employed her walked into the kitchen.**

" **No thank you. I'm just looking for Alice." Elizabeth walked over to the pots full of bubbly liquid on the stove and sniffed the air. "That smells delicious."**

" **Thank you, Miss. It will be ready for serving in another 30 minutes. Alice is upstairs refilling the fireplaces for the evening.'**

' **Can I have a cookie for each of us?"**

 **The friendly cook looked at Elizabeth and sighed. She didn't have the heart to remind her that Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher had strongly advised their daughter to stop spending unnecessary time with the servants. The servants were meant to serve. Nothing more.**

" **Of course, dear. But Alice has her chores to do so try not to distract her too long."**

" **I won't. I'm just going to loan her another book."**

 **Elizabeth found Alice in the master bedroom. Kneeling on the hearth as she cleaned out the ashes from the fireplace.**

" **I brought you another book" Elizabeth said as she sat down on her parents' bed, watching Alice take the small hand broom and sweep the soot into a dustpan, before dumping it into her ashcan.**

 **Alice, ashy smudges on her face, smiled at her best friend and walked over to her. "Thanks. Here, you put it in my apron pocket. I don't want to touch it and get it dirty."**

" **Did you finish reading the last one I lent you?" Elizabeth asked as she put the novel into Alice's apron and handed her a cookie.**

" **Of course! I told you I would."**

" **What did you think of it?"**

" **It was very good."**

" **What did you think of the heroine?"**

" **You tell me first!"**

* * *

 **That's how it would usually go.**

 **Year after year.**

 **As Alice and Elizabeth would sit in Elizabeth's room or as she would follow the working girl around, Elizabeth would go on and on about characters in novels. Telling Alice what she liked about each one.**

 **Elizabeth was always thrilled that Alice felt the same way. They liked the same characters. Disliked the same characters. Alice said she even cried at the same parts of the books.**

 **Although Alice preferred to talk to Elizabeth about real people, like the boy who delivered fresh vegetables to the stately mansion, or the wealthy boys who had shown an interest in Elizabeth now that she had grown from a young girl to a young lady, she would smile and indulge Elizabeth, letting her talk about her beloved books first.**

 **Always the books first, and then real life second.**

* * *

 **Elizabeth conspiratorially grabbed the other girl's hand and pulled her along as she walked out of the front parlor room in her new velvet and satin dress, which had recently arrived from Paris in time for Elizabeth's 18th birthday.**

" **Upstairs. Hurry. Before my mother makes me sit and talk to boring ladies from the Country Club."**

 **Alice, in her uniform, smiled as they strolled down the long upstairs hallway to Elizabeth's bedroom, with its flowered wallpaper, thick rug, and chandelier in the center of the ceiling.**

' **I told my parents I'm thinking about maybe going to Teacher's college," Elizabeth announced as she led Alice to the bed and climbed up onto it. Not caring that she was wrinkling her fancy new frock or that Alice was getting a little bit of soot on the bedspread.**

" **What did they say?"**

" **That I don't need to go to college. That I need to practice my manners, my dancing, my conversation skills, and start accepting more invitations to social functions", Elizabeth announced in a huff before getting pensive.**

" **Maybe they're right," Elizabeth continued. "Violet says I should find a nice duke or lord and get married like she plans to do. I suppose it would be much easier. And maybe the world doesn't need any more teachers. But enough about me. The whole day has been about me. What have you been doing? We haven't talked in months!"**

 **Alice smiled. "Bobby has hinted that once we get enough money saved up, we'll get engaged."**

 **Elizabeth squealed and hugged her best friend. "I've missed you! I had no idea that while I've been traveling, you've been courting so seriously! When do you think he'll have enough money saved up?"**

" **I'm going to get another job to help. At a factory. In the evenings."**

" **But you already work ten hours a day here", Elizabeth said with a furrowed brow.**

 **"Alice", she began again hesitantly. "Don't you think about getting a job other than manual labor? Or getting more schooling? You love to read! We've always had such great times talking about books and characters! You're so smart!"**

 **Alice got off the bed and smiled at Elizabeth.**

 **"Hush now, Elizabeth. A life of schooling is for you. It's not meant for me. I know my station in life. Now I've got to run down to the kitchen. Happy Birthday, best friend. I left you a present. It's on your dresser."**

* * *

 **Three months later, Elizabeth hurried down the staircase, almost tripping in her high heeled shoes. She was late for breakfast again. It was the third time this week.**

 _ **If father complains about me oversleeping, I'll just blame him. It's his own fault that I was out so late last night. I was just taking his and mother's advice. Socializing. And the boys at the Country Club are a lot of fun. I danced so much my feet still hurt!**_

 **Mr. Thatcher, who was standing by the large window in low conversation with the family butler, quickly turned when he saw his middle daughter walk into the dining room. "Elizabeth."**

" **I know. I know. I'm late. It's your fault, father", Elizabeth said as she sat down at the long table and unfolded the cloth napkin, placing it properly on her lap.**

" **Tea, please", she said aloud out of habit without bothering to look around.**

 **When the butler reached for her cup and saucer, and poured the hot liquid from the silver tea pot, Elizabeth looked around in surprise. Noticing for the first time that the usual servants who waited on them were not present in the dining room.**

 **In fact, now that she thought about it, Elizabeth hadn't seen any servants other than the butler in the house that morning.**

" **Is this some holiday I don't know about? Where is everyone?" she asked humorously as she picked up a perfectly polished teaspoon and placed some sugar from the silver sugar bowl into her cup.**

" **Elizabeth", her father said solemnly.**

 **Before continuing, he nodded to the butler, who gave a slight nod in return and quickly left the room. Closing the heavy French doors behind him.**

" **I don't know how to say this, so I'll just come right out", Mr. Thatcher said as he looked sympathetically at Elizabeth.**

 **"Don't tell me we're out of pancakes. Or mother's got another headache and needs me to keep her company", Elizabeth said frivolously as she took a sip of tea.**

" **The chambermaid girl. Alice. The one you're so fond of. She killed herself last night."**

* * *

 **The rest of the day was a blur as a steady stream of tears refused to stop flowing from Elizabeth's eyes.**

 **At Elizabeth's insistence, her father had the police station send an officer to the mansion to explain what had happened.**

 **The officer, surprised at the request and wondering why the wealthy family would care about the suicide of a simple working-class girl, came anyway.**

 **The uniformed man tried not to steal glances at the paintings on the walls, the thick Persian rugs, the opulent curtains and furniture, and the bookcases filled with enough books for a small library, as he stood in Mr. Thornton's study and told a sobbing Elizabeth the simple facts as he knew them.**

 **Alice, on her way home from her night-shift at the paper and pulp factory had been taking a short-cut through some alleys. The gas streetlights illuminated most of the long narrow space between buildings, making Alice favor it as a quick way home.**

 **The eighteen-year old girl, tired from working 16 hour days in a life of poverty, had only ever taken the short-cut at night. She had not seen the city workmen toiling away during daylight. Pounding tall wooden poles into the ground. Stringing electrical lines for the city's brand new trolley system.**

 **But even in the light from the moon and the gas streetlights, she would have seen the construction site. Probably not the wires that ran through the air making them invisible as they blended into the darkened sky.**

 **And, if she wasn't looking down, she likely would have missed the thick long black cable, the same color as the night, which lay in front of her. Carrying the high energy current down the street for the trolley cars. The first of its kind in Hamilton.**

 **But she would have seen the signs.**

 _ **High Voltage**_

 _ **Electricity**_

 _ **Danger. Stay away.**_

 **Alice had walked past the signs warning of danger of the new electrical lines. Warning that electrocution and death would occur if the wires or cable were touched.**

 **Without a moment's hesitation, Alice had walked determinedly past the signs and straight to the wires.**

 **Killing herself instantaneously.**

* * *

 **The chauffeur, dismayed at the having to drive his employer's educated but still innocent young daughter to the middle-class working neighborhood, refused to wait with the car outside the tenement building in the rundown section of the city.**

 **Instead, he insisted on escorting Elizabeth up the three flights of steps, and steadied her as she faltered in surprise when a rat ran past her feet. Elizabeth quickly jerked back her feet, clad in shoes from the finest cobbler in Hamilton, before taking a deep breath and continuing.**

 **A young man, wiping tears from his eyes, passed Elizabeth in the narrow hallway. She thought he looked familiar and then realized that he delivered vegetables to the mansion twice a week. Bobby.**

* * *

 **As Elizabeth, tears filling her eyes, hugged Alice's mother and allowed the woman to cry in her arms, she looked at the sparse room. Thinking of Alice.**

 **Alice had been happy. In love. Working hard to afford getting married. Elizabeth couldn't understand why Alice had walked into the live electrical wires. It didn't make any sense. But it didn't seem the right time to question her grieving mother. So Elizabeth held the woman tightly to her chest and looked at her simple but clean surroundings.**

 **Over the years, the best friends had spent countless hours giggling and sharing cookies in the Thatcher kitchen. Whispering secrets in Elizabeth's elegant bedroom. Disclosing dreams of the future as they ran through the carpeted hallways of the mansion.**

 **And yet, Elizabeth had never seen where Alice lived.**

* * *

 **Ten minutes later, Elizabeth gave Mrs. Sutton another hug and was almost to the door, when she saw "** **A Tale of Two Cities" lying on the small table.**

 **It was the last book she had loaned Alice.**

 **Elizabeth's hands shook as she reached out and picked up the book. She wiped away a tear as she turned to Alice's mother.**

" **I wonder if she liked it," Elizabeth said with a sob.**

 **Alice's mother looked solemnly at Elizabeth and paused before speaking.**

" **She wouldn't know. Not until she talked to you."**

" **What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked in puzzlement**

" **She couldn't read."**

" **Of course she could read! She read all the time. All the books I've loaned her," Elizabeth countered.**

" **No, Miss." The tired and broken woman shook her head as she spoke.**

" **She pretended to. You were her best friend and she loved spending time with you. She didn't want to disappoint you by telling you she couldn't read. She didn't have schooling like you. She had to work all those hours when you was busy learning"**

" **But we talked about characters!" Elizabeth exclaimed. Refusing to believe that she had been blind to Alice's deception.**

" **She just agreed with whatever you said. Alice loved you like family. She wished she could have read for you. Really she did. But Miss Elizabeth, that's not our life. Reading and writing. She ain't got no need for schooling. Schooling don't buy food and pay bills. And she didn't have no time to learn. Public school ain't so good. No heat in some of the buildings and not enough books. Teachers too strict or else don't care none."**

" **She couldn't read?" Elizabeth whispered.**

" **No, Miss Elizabeth. She couldn't read. She hid it real good. But she couldn't read."**

 **Suddenly Elizabeth felt herself become nauseated and her knees weakened from grief. She placed her hands on the cheap wood table, supporting herself as she tried to breath.**

 **Through her tears, she looked in dismay at Alice's mother. "An accident?"**

 **The older woman nodded sadly.**

 **"The police told me that Alice walked right past the warning signs. A sign not to go near the line because of electricity. And another that said 'High Voltage." Elizabeth said with a sob.**

 **Alice's mother nodded again. "They might as well have said "Free Kittens" for all the good they did her. She had no idea what they said. She couldn't read them. She was just trying to get home in a hurry."**

* * *

 **The next morning, Elizabeth informed her parents that she was applying to Teacher's College, with or without their approval. And when she had her teacher's certification, she would not teach at a wealthy boarding school or in the mansions of the rich that lined the boulevard on the edge of the City's great park.**

 **Elizabeth Thatcher would teach the children who lived like Alice had lived.**

 **The End**

Elizabeth ran her fingers though Jack's hair, bending down to kiss him gently.

"Are you awake?" she whispered.

"Yeah. That was good. Sad, but good", he said quietly, keeping his eyes closed. "But there's no truth to it, right?"

"Not a smidgen", Elizabeth answered with a smile. "Just my imagination."

"I'm glad it's not true. You know, you almost had me crying there."

Elizabeth chuckled. "A strong brave Mountie like you? Almost made to cry by a simple school teacher like me?"

"I've told you before that you're anything but a simple school teacher. And I'm pretty sure that won't be the last time you almost make me cry."

"Hmm. Is it wrong for me to like having that power over you?" a pleased Elizabeth asked.

Jack gave a quiet chuckle. "You've had power over me since the first day we met."

Elizabeth gazed at the drowsy Jack and began to again run her slender fingers slowly through his auburn hair. She loved that it was shorter on the sides, and, when he hadn't combed it yet in the morning and it was due for a trim, he had a slight wave in the front without even trying.

The light from the fading campfire and the moon made Jack's facial features impossible to clearly see, but it didn't matter. Elizabeth knew by memory his square jaw. The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes when he laughed.

She knew that the dimple on his left cheek was inexplicably deeper than the one on his right cheek. And that when he didn't shave for four days and his face had become scruffy with an incoming beard, he had a very small spot on the right side where his beard didn't fully come in.

The man she loved. Who loved her back. The man she didn't even know existed a year ago was contently falling asleep, using her lap as a pillow for his weary head.

"You're staring at me, aren't you?" he murmured with his eyes still closed.

"Yes", she said. Her voice a mere whisper. "I can't help it. Now, shhh. Go to sleep."

After a few quiet moments, Elizabeth thought Jack had nodded off. She was surprised when he sleepily spoke. "So, what made you want to become a teacher? You never told me. Was it something sad like that?"

"Oh goodness no."

"What was it?"

"I burned down a barn, tripped over some ducks, and choked on a muffin."

Jack opened his eyes. "You what?!"

Elizabeth laughed. "That's a story for another night. It's late."

"Then come cuddle with me", Jack murmured as he reached his arm to her neck, gently pulling her lips down to his.

 **Up next: Chapter 36**

 **Dear Readers:**

 **This is my idea of a backstory as to why Elizabeth in the WCTH TV show became a teacher.**


	36. Chapter 36 - Mama

**Chapter 36 – Mama's Boy**

"What are you thinking?" Jack asked the next morning as he took a sip of lukewarm water from his canteen and looked at Elizabeth who was crouched at the front of the tent. She had the flap of canvas open a few inches.

"I was just thinking about the storm, and how I don't want us to get wet."

"It's coming down buckets out there. Why don't we wait an hour or two? The storm might pass by then."

Elizabeth continued looking towards the sky before speaking. Hoping to see blue somewhere, even in the far distance. But all she saw was grey through the curtain of rain coming down.

"Mother nature rarely plays by anyone else's rules. She can be very headstrong."

Jack chuckled. "Like someone else I know."

"You used to like that about me." Elizabeth grinned as she looked over her shoulder at Jack.

"Still do", he murmured as he crawled on the ground behind her. With one hand, he gently moved the hair off the side of her neck, and placed a lingering kiss on her skin.

"Jack, what are we going to do until the rain lets up?"

"I've got an idea or two." Jack's voice was low and suggestive.

"Me too!" Elizabeth said happily as an idea came to her. She dropped the canvas tent flap from her hand and turned towards Jack.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Jack lay with his back on the ground inside the tent. He propped himself up on both elbows and stared at Elizabeth. His suspenders still held up his pants, which he had been wearing for more than thirty minutes despite his desire to have taken them off by now.

"You know, Elizabeth. This wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

'Hmm", she answered absentmindedly. She didn't bother to look at Jack as she continued to write in her notebook.

Jack watched as Elizabeth, still fully clothed, paused for moment in her writing. Her eyes stayed on the page in front of her. The pencil held motionless in her hand as she read her words and contemplated the next sentence in her story.

 _Don't do it. Don't do it_ , he thought to himself as he watched her. But he knew she was going to do it despite his silent plea.

Elizabeth, still glancing at her notebook, turned to a fresh page.

And then she bit her bottom lip pensively.

 _Aargh! Why did she do it?_ Jack thought as he stared at her lips and then dropped back to the ground in frustration. _I love when she does that little bite thing._

 _Does she have any idea how badly I want her right now?_

For half an hour, Jack had tried to stop thinking about what he wanted to be doing with his wife while she wrote her newest story idea in her notebook.

 _Obviously her idea of what to do until the rain let up was vastly different from mine_ , Jack thought with a chagrin.

Despite his subtle and not so subtle hints, Elizabeth had been oblivious to Jack's desires. He had rolled up his sleeves to exhibit the arm muscles she admired so much. He had rubbed her back as she scribbled in her book. He had told her how pretty she looked. And yet, she hadn't even noticed his actions as she wrote her newest story.

If it was a battle of Jack versus Elizabeth's imagination, Jack was a sore loser.

"You've been writing for more than half an hour", he remarked as he looked at the tent's fabric roof, watching the dimpling movement made by the raindrops which pounded on the outside of it.

Elizabeth didn't even hear him as she was now moving her pencil speedily across the page. She wrote line after line down the page until she got to the bottom. Then she quickly turned the paper over and began writing on the backside.

 _How selfish of a man would I be if I told her to put down the damn notebook and get on top of me? . . . Or under me?_

 _Pretty damn selfish,_ he realized with a sigh.

He lifted up his head, and glanced at her again.

The humidity had caused Elizabeth's hair to become a wild mass of curls. Parts of it cascaded down her back, while other tendrils bounced on her shoulders like coils or soft tight springs. Around Elizabeth's temple, the hair strands which were several inches long when she wore them straightened, were now spiral curls barely touching her eyebrows.

 _Those curls are such a turn on. If I pull them down with my teeth, they bounce right back. Does she have any idea how sexy they are?_

"Elizabeth, do you think maybe you've written enough for the morning?"

Elizabeth, engrossed in her thoughts, didn't lift up her head as she continued to write.

* * *

Five minutes later, she curiously looked up at him. "Did you say something, Jack?"

"Just wanted to know how much longer you're going to write."

"Did it stop raining?" she asked as she glanced in surprise at the entrance to the tent and realized that the sound of the rain beating on the tent had almost subsided.

"It's letting up. Probably be finished in the next five minutes or so."

"Okay. Just let me know when it stops and you're ready to go", she said pleasantly as she turned back to her writing.

 _Man, I would love to be that notebook right now._

 _The way she smiles and runs her hand along the pages. She's practically caressing them._

 _Why can't that be my body she's touching?_ he thought with a groan.

 _I cannot believe that I am jealous of a notebook_!

* * *

"What did you draw?" Elizabeth asked curiously a few minutes later as she sighed in contentment and put down her notebook.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? What have you been doing while I wrote? I thought you were going to sketch", she said in puzzlement.

"Yeah, well, I just wasn't in the mood to draw after all", he said with a shrug as he looked at her and thought about how they had just missed a perfect opportunity.

 _Sure we made love last night. But come on, that was last night. At least ten hours ago! And who knows if we'll have a chance in Colter City. She normally loves making love in the rain._

 _And damn, I love those curls of hers._

"Really? You weren't in the mood to draw? But it was the perfect opportunity for our hobbies", Elizabeth said curiously as she stretched her back.

"How would you define the word 'hobby'?", Jack asked casually.

Elizabeth paused. She had no idea why Jack was asking her such a question, but she liked any excuse to teach.

"A hobby is a regular activity, which can be very physical. That is done for enjoyment. Typically during one's leisure time."

"Yep, that's what I was in the mood for", Jack responded with a sigh as he got up from the ground and began rolling up his sleeping bag.

"The storm's passed. We can head to town, if you're up for it."

* * *

Jack and Elizabeth had only been riding for forty minutes but they already realized that the pace was much slower than yesterday.

They rode side by side through the valley when they could. But on narrow paths, Jack took the lead. Careful to have his horse walk slowly enough that in didn't fall or pull a muscle in the areas of deep mud.

"You okay back there?" Jack called over his shoulder.

"Yep. Just don't trot."

* * *

The hillsides were more dangerous than usual. The hard hooves of the horses provided little traction on the rain-slicked grass.

Both Elizabeth and Jack dropped their reins, allowing the horses' legs to judge the conditions and set their own pace. Slowly and steadily, the two riders made their way towards Colter City.

"You wait here. I'm going to ride ahead past the thicket and see how slick it is and what the water looks like. It may be pretty treacherous due to all the rain we've had," Jack instructed as they neared a thicket close to a swollen river.

Jack cautiously rode his horse to the top edge of the wet embankment. Dismounting, he took hold of the reins and led the horse down to the water's edge.

Jack's years of riding allowed him to feel comfortable judging the speed of the river, its depth, and the abilities of their horses to navigate it.

He hesitated as he wondered if Elizabeth would feel comfortable riding through the fast moving river. If she was the least bit tense, he knew that her small horse would sense it and lose confidence in its movements, perhaps changing its gait and slipping on a rock.

 _Elizabeth's not used to riding as much as me, especially in these conditions. I'll switch horses with her. Mine will keep its confidence even if it senses that Elizabeth is nervous._

Jack, grateful that the rain had stopped when it did, was struck by how different it was to be riding with a wife as opposed to crossing the terrain by himself.

The feeling of protectiveness that he felt for Elizabeth made him pause and consider every move. The best routes to take. What may be too dangerous. How many hours to travel at a time.

As Jack took a final look at the river and the bank on the other side, the loud blast of the gunshot startled him, causing him to jerk around and look back towards the grove of trees where he had left Elizabeth.

* * *

"Elizabeth!" Jack screamed in desperation as he hurried up the embankment, pulling his horse behind him.

 _What the hell happened?!_

With a scowl, he realized that he had left his service pistol in the saddle bag on Elizabeth's horse. Thankfully, he had his rifle strapped into his saddle.

His boot slipped in the wet ground, causing him to fall to his knees, splattering his clothes with mud.

He cursed at himself before he scrambled to his feet, using the horse's reins to help pull himself up.

His heart was pounding as he jumped on his horse and sped too fast for the conditions through the thicket. _Why did I leave her alone?!_ he berated himself.

Jack held onto the reins in one hand. His rifle in the other.

* * *

At the edge of the thicket, he pulled up short when he saw Elizabeth.

She was calmly sitting atop her small horse. Jack's pistol in her right hand.

"Elizabeth, did you fire a shot? What happened?!" he yelled worriedly as he starting riding towards her again.

"It's fine. I handled it," she called out casually as she motioned off to the side.

As Jack approached, he looked to the ground to where Elizabeth was pointing. The body lay twenty feet from her horse.

The tawny colored cat, with its large paws and hind legs, was easily eight feet in length from the tip of its tail to its nose.

"Did you know that cougars are ambush predators? They sneak up on their prey. Quite crafty. And they can run up to 50 miles per hour and can even take down a bull moose," Elizabeth noted evenly as if she were teaching a class.

"You shot it?" he asked in bewilderment.

"I didn't have a choice."

"You hate guns!"

"Well, yes. I do. But that doesn't mean I don't know how to use one."

"One shot, and you hit it perfectly." His voice showed his amazement.

"It was a little hard because it was a moving target, but it was either me and the horse or it. And I wasn't about to become its lunch."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I hate to kill anything, but it was coming right at me."

"Does anything faze you?" Jack asked as he pulled up close to her. His horse's body a mere inch from hers.

Elizabeth chuckled.

"Jack, I grew up in the country. I moved to a small town by myself. I teach a classroom full of young children. Have you seen some of my students? Not a lot leaves me frazzled."

'Well, aren't you just full of surprises", he said as he shook his head in awe.

* * *

"This is dreadful. Absolutely dreadful. You can't dance at your reception with that . . . that . . . that hobbling thing you're doing. Stop it right now", Mrs. Thornton ordered after hugging Jack and Elizabeth, who had found the elder Thornton couple sitting at the town's busy restaurant two hours later.

"You simply must stop it", she instructed again as if that settled the matter.

Elizabeth looked at her mother-in-law in surprise and then turned to Jack. Her eyes pleading with him to say something.

"Mother, she was just injured a few days okay. She's getting better. She's not going to be hobbling at the reception. It's a sprain. She hasn't been permanently maimed."

Elizabeth couldn't tell if she had sensed disgust in his voice or laughter as Jack addressed his mother.

"Well, thank goodness for that. Now let's get you two settled and fed."

"Actually, I'll leave Elizabeth with you two. I need to check-in at the jailhouse and find out what's going on. Take care of her for me, mom."

"Of course, dear."

Before Elizabeth could react, Jack gave his mother an affectionate kiss on the cheek and hurried out of the restaurant.

 _Where's my kiss?_ Elizabeth thought with a frown. _He kissed his mother and forgot about me. I'm his wife!_

* * *

Colter City was bustling with displaced passengers, railroad workers, and town citizens. The residents had initially been anxious to help with the aftermath of the accident, but once they realized that no one was suffering life-threatening injuries, they realized that there was a profit to be made.

Jack and the other Mounties who had arrived to aid were kept busy as the injured needed assistance, people haggled over the prices of food and rooms, and long lines and crowds gathered around the telegraph office and other establishments.

Mr. Thornton, upon noticing his wife's dismay when she had seen the only available hotel room, had paid a hefty sum to a local farmer to rent the man's farmhouse and wagon for the week. For an extra five dollars, the farmer had also provided his thirteen-year old son to drive the Thornton's to and from town for meals.

"We won't need him now that you're with us, Elizabeth. I'm sure your cooking is just fine by now. At least I hope it is. But the boy's already been paid so we can still use him to run errands", Mrs. Thornton informed Elizabeth.

* * *

The three civilian Thorntons stayed in town all afternoon.

Mr. Thornton made several trips to the telegraph office to await a message from his office, and found his way to a game of poker and a glass of Scotch.

Mrs. Thornton found a somewhat private corner of a Cafe to drink tea and read a book. As long as she was willing to pay for the seat, the staff allowed her to sit there undisturbed other than to refill her teacup.

Elizabeth hobbled on her sprained ankle running errands for her mother-in-law and replacing some items lost or damaged in the derailment.

After an early meager dinner at a crowded restaurant which had a shortage of food, they heading to the farm. Elizabeth had managed to briefly see Jack in the street as he was hauling two handcuffed and drunk men to the jailhouse.

"I'll have to spend tonight in town. I'll be out to the farm in the morning for breakfast", Jack said quickly as he pulled up one of the men who was stumbling.

As Elizabeth rode next to the wagon on their way to the farm, she was already regretting that she hadn't stayed behind in Hope Valley.

* * *

The Nelson farmhouse, which was clean and simple, reminded Elizabeth of many of the homes in Aberdeen.

To the elder Thornton couple, it was more of a nightmarish curiosity. They had moved into the larger of the two bedrooms yesterday. In less than 24 hours, Jack's mother had been horrified by the lack of indoor plumbing, the lack of electricity or natural gas lines, and the sounds of a rooster awakening her at dawn.

* * *

"Don't worry about milking the cow anymore this week. I'll do it for you. My husband and I are going to be sleeping in the extra stall. So we don't need you stopping by twice a day", Elizabeth explained to Allan Nelson, the teenager whose chores she was willing to do, when he showed up the next morning.

"I'll gather the eggs too", she informed him pleasantly.

Elizabeth had slept in the boy's single bed last night, but she had already decided that when Jack came, the couple would sleep in the barn. After cleaning an empty stall, she had put down fresh hay and then made two trips between the house and the barn, carrying the mattress, pillow, and linens.

* * *

"Elizabeth dear, I need a frog. Please go find me one", Mrs Thornton said as the woman carried some fresh flowers into the kitchen. "Aren't these beautiful? I had the farm boy get them for me."

"Excuse me?"

"A frog. For the breakfast table. Please dear. I don't have a clue where to find one around here. You must know. You used to this type of. . . living arrangement."

Elizabeth, a frown on her puzzled face, wandered outside. _A frog? I heard that rich people like frog legs in Paris. But we have perfectly good food here! Even if there's a shortage in town._

* * *

"Morning Mom, where's Elizabeth?" Jack asked as he walked in the farmhouse and took off his hat, placing it on the rack near the door.

"I have no idea where that wife of yours has run off to. I asked her to go find me a simple flower-frog for the centerpiece and she disappeared."

"Mother, I doubt very much the Nelson's have a flower-frog."

"It doesn't have to be silver. I understand that they couldn't possibly afford Tiffany's, but even a simple one will do. I need something to put the flower stems into. How else am I supposed to arrange the flowers for the table?"

"Mom, the people around here are not used to elaborate flower centerpieces. They don't need something to hold up the stems. If they have flowers, they just put them in a vase."

"No flower-frog?"

"No flower-frog."

"Well, then I have no idea where Elizabeth ran off to. Really, Jack, you have the most interesting wife. I simply do not understand that girl", Jack's mother said with a critical shake of her head.

* * *

A frazzled Elizabeth sat back on her haunches in the vegetable garden and looked at her dirty hands. _I give up!_

She had spent twenty minutes searching the farm for a frog.

 _But what will she say when I tell her?! I can't go back inside and tell her that I couldn't find a simple frog for breakfast. She'll think I'm not capable of making a proper meal! She'll think I'm a terrible wife to Jack!_ Elizabeth thought worriedly.

 _I have to find a stupid frog for breakfast!_

 _"_ Elizabeth, what are you doing?" Jack asked curiously as he approached Elizabeth and saw her among tomato and zucchini plants.

"I'm looking for a frog! For your mother! Your crazy mother wants a frog for breakfast!"

"Elizabeth, do you have any idea what a frog is?"

"Of course, I do. It's an amphibian."

Jack laughed. "To most people, it's an amphibian. To the rich, it's a device you put in the middle of a centerpiece to hold up flower stems."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

"It's made of silver or porcelain or even glass and looks nothing like an actual frog. It has small holes or prongs to keep the stems upright."

"Why didn't she say?!" Elizabeth practically wailed.

Jack smiled and reached out his hand to her. "Come on, lets get inside."

"So we don't have to eat frog legs for breakfast?"

"No, my dear. We don't eat frog legs for breakfast. We're rich. Not desperate."

* * *

"You don't expect me to eat that atrocity, do you?"

Elizabeth's mother-in-law looked in disgust at the contents of the basket which Elizabeth brought to the table for breakfast.

"It's toast." Elizabeth said in surprise.

"It's warm and soggy."

"Of course it's warm. It's toast", Elizabeth replied in puzzlement. "But it's not soggy, it's just a little soft because that's how toast gets when you put the pieces together in a basket."

"I don't want warm and soggy toast. If I wanted warm and soggy toast, I would take a bath with it. I want my toast the way it's supposed to be. Hard and cold."

"It's toast! It's not supposed to be hard and cold!"

"Perhaps not the way you eat your monstrosity, but proper toast is hard and cold. This is not toast. This is limp charred bread. You should have used a toast rack."

"A toast rack?"

"A toast rack. A rack for toast. A toast holder." Mrs. Thornton looked at Elizabeth as if her daughter-in-law was a simpleton.

When Elizabeth looked at Jack in confusion, he simply shrugged in agreement with his mother.

"Do you like your toast hard and cold?" a stunned Elizabeth asked Jack.

"Kind of", he admitted.

"Kind of?!"

"I guess I like it the way I grew up with it. Hard and cold. And then with a little marmalade spread on it. Mom always made sure we had the most delicious orange marmalade. If you use a toast rack to serve the toast, it keeps the pieces nice and straight and separated", Jack smiled as he reminisced. "They don't get soft."

Elizabeth slumped into her chair. _A toast rack?_

"I'll get you a nice silver one from Tiffany and Company. When I buy you the flower-frog. I cannot have my son eating this . . . this . . . wilted bread for breakfast."

Elizabeth unfolded her napkin and placed it on her lap. She was reaching for her glass of orange juice and almost wishing that she had put some vodka in it, when her mother-in-law spoke again.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" the woman asked as she motioned towards the brown-shelled oval in front of her, which Elizabeth had placed in one of the egg cups she had found in the cupboard.

"It's a soft boiled egg."

"Yes. I can see that. But how am I supposed to eat it? I don't see any egg toppers", Mrs. Thornton remarked as she looked around the table.

"Egg toppers?" Elizabeth looked at her mother-in-law in confusion.

"Elizabeth dear, you forgot the egg toppers."

"The egg toppers?"

"For cutting off the top of the egg."

"You just use your knife . . . to crack the top." Elizabeth said hesitantly, wondering what she could possibly be misunderstanding. _What in the world is an egg topper?_

"Like this", Elizabeth added with a smile as she tapped on her egg with her knife. Happy to introduce the family to a new food. _Have they never eaten a soft boiled egg before?!_

Mr. Thornton seemed fascinated by Elizabeth's actions as he watched her lift the broken off top shell of her egg and place it on the side of her plate.

"How . . . how simple", he finally said as he tapped on his own egg.

"Well, thank goodness that I'm not expected to act like a barbarian and use my teeth", Mrs. Thornton replied with a shake of her head as she picked up her knife.

Elizabeth glanced at Jack for some support but he missed her look as he was busy using his knife to crack the top of his egg as he spoke.

"I remember our egg toppers! When we were little, Tom and I used to argue over who got the silver one with the rooster design for a handle", he said with a grin. "It was the best egg topper of the group."

Jack's mother laughed. "You two boys were so adorable. Going around the table asking if you could top off our soft boiled eggs."

"And you always said that I got to use the rooster handle topper first because I was the oldest. Tom was always jealous." Jack smiled as he looked at his mom.

"Every time I have a soft-boiled egg, I think of that egg topper and our breakfasts," Jack added wistfully.

Elizabeth looked a Jack in surprise.

"I make soft-boiled eggs once a week!"

"I know", Jack said with a shrug.

"And you always wanted an egg topper? You've never said anything", she said in disbelief.

"I could have bought you one", she added meekly.

"We still have the rooster handled one at home", Mrs. Thornton chuckled. "I'll have it packed up and mailed to you so you have it at your home."

"Thanks, mom. You're the best." Jack said happily.

 _Egg toppers? Silver egg toppers?! Just use a stupid knife!_ Elizabeth thought in frustration.

Jack's voice interrupted Elizabeth's thoughts.

"Elizabeth, did you make bacon?"

"Oh, yes. I'm sorry. I forgot it. I'll get it now." Elizabeth said as she quickly pushed back her chair and opened the oven where the bacon was staying warm.

 _Flowers need a frog. Toast needs a toast rack. Eggs need egg toppers. Thank goodness, bacon is just bacon. No special utensil needed_.

 _Remain calm, Elizabeth. You can't have done anything wrong with bacon,_ she told herself as she picked up the platter with a dishtowel to protect her hands from the heat.

* * *

"This is Canadian bacon," Mr. Thornton remarked when Elizabeth set the platter on the table in front of him.

"We're Canadian!" a frazzled Elizabeth wailed before she slumping in her chair again. "What else would we be having?! We're Canadian!"

Mr. Thornton looked startled. "I was just commenting that the Americans called our bacon Canadian bacon. I learned that when I was in New York City last month. No harm intended."

"Sorry", Elizabeth mumbled, feeling her cheeks turn rosy, especially when she noticed Jack giving her a strange questioning look.

* * *

"Have you had your visiting cards made yet?" Jack's mother asked as she set down her fork and knife and wiped her mouth with her napkin.

"My what?"

"Your visiting cards?"

For the umpteenth time since they had been in Colter City, Elizabeth turned hopelessly to look at Jack, who responded for her.

"We don't really need them in Hope Valley, mother. We know everyone."

"I'm sure you know everyone dear. You are very well thought of in that town of yours", Jack's mother said as she looked at him adoringly and patted his hand.

Elizabeth noticed that Jack seemed to thoroughly enjoy his mother's compliment.

"But Elizabeth, you should have thought to make them already. A visiting card for a married woman should be three inches wide by two and 1/8 inches high. Make sure it's made of pure white unglazed Bristol-board, and somewhat flexible. But not too thin. The very thin cards of last year are no longer fashionable."

"But –"

"Because you live in such a small town, you need not put on your address but of course, you need your name engraved on the front."

"But – "

"I'm very surprised you haven't had them made yet. Really, Elizabeth, you're a Thornton now", Mrs. Thornton said disapprovingly.

"Yes, ma'am", Elizabeth answered meekly while Jack happily reached for another slab of bacon.

* * *

While Jack and his father got ready to go into town, Elizabeth dragged her feet down the short hallway to the bedroom with Mrs. Thornton.

"I brought four dresses for you to try on for the reception. I had the seamstress follow the measurements you sent, but if they don't fit perfectly, you'll have to use a seamstress in that coal town you live in."

"It's called Hope Valley and _I am_ a seamstress."

"I thought you were a teacher!"

"Jack, she says she's a seamstress! We've been led to believe this entire time that she was still a teacher. Did you know about this?" Mrs. Thornton called out through the open door before quickly turning back to Elizabeth.

"Did you get fired from your teaching job?" the woman asked as she narrowed her eyes and looked suspiciously at Elizabeth.

Jack poked his head in the doorway. "She's quite capable of doing more than one thing. That's why I married her. She's an excellent seamstress and an excellent teacher", he said with a grin.

"I'll have to spend all day in town helping out. Dad will probably spend the day sending telegrams or keeping me company. We'll see you two later. Have fun."

 _Fun? Marie Antoinette had more fun at her execution. The people in the train wreck had more fun._

* * *

"I brought you several dresses so you'd have ample to choose from. I want you to feel like this is your wedding reception."

"It _is_ my wedding reception."

"Of course, dear!"

"So . . . you like the color green?" Elizabeth said hesitantly when Mrs. Thornton opened the traveling trunk on the floor and withdrew four evening gowns. Laying them on the bed. Each one was green.

"Personally, I look better in blue, but with your hair color, I thought green would be more flattering for you."

"You brought me _four green_ dresses."

"They're different shades of green. Obviously. This jade green might be a tad bit too dark for you but the cut is beautiful. The sea-green gown is from Paris. And this pale forest green is stunning. And this other forest green has the most lovely neckline."

"You do like green, don't you?" Mrs. Thornton asked when she noticed Elizabeth eyeing the dresses somewhat skeptically.

"Of course. I just thought that I had mentioned in one of my letters that a pink gown would be lovely."

"I thought you were joking", Mrs. Thornton said in surprise.

"Joking?"

"Well, yes."

"Why would I have been joking?!"

"Because you can't wear pink. Not with your coloring."

"I wear pink all the time."

"Oh dear. How tragic."

* * *

Elizabeth, wearing the dark jade green gown, stood in front of the mirror, looking at her reflection. The expensive dress fit her perfectly. Hugging her curves. Accentuating her small waist which was cinched in by her corset. The neckline showed off the pale blemish-free skin along her collar bone, making her look like a society woman in a portrait.

Elizabeth smiled as she thought of the famed artist John Singer Sargent, who was known to travel throughout Europe to paint exotic beautiful women. _I could be one of his models. I could._

 _I look beautiful._

"I know pale is considered ladylike but with your pasty coloring and your hobbling on one ankle, you look rather like a wounded solider coming home from battle", Mrs. Thornton said as she observed Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's smile fell and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Perhaps you should get a bit more color in your face. . . . But not too much color. Then you'd just look like a wounded soldier who caught Dengue fever or some other dreadful disease before hobbling home from battle."

"Now, dear. Don't just stand there with your mouth gaped open. Please try on the next dress."

"Speaking of illness. Do try to stay away from students the week before the reception. We don't want you taken ill after all the work I've put in to this reception."

* * *

Mrs. Thornton had finally decided that Elizabeth would choose the pale forest green gown. Elizabeth had to admit that it was perfect. Even better than the jade one. She looked breathtaking. _Jack's not going to be able to keep his hands off of me!_

"You'll need a necklace of course. I brought you one. It's there in the smaller trunk. Would you get it dear? I'll go get us some more lemonade. Jack's grandmother left a few pieces of jewelry for the boys to give to their future wives. I decided to save the yellow and white diamond piece for Tom's wife. If that boy every gets married. The piece I brought for you suits you more."

Elizabeth went to the trunk, which had four drawers on one side and hangers on the other. In the second drawer, she found two thin flat jewelry boxes.

"Which one is it?" Elizabeth asked loudly as she looked to the door.

"The one that matches you", Mrs. Thornton called out from the kitchen. "The other one is one of my own."

Elizabeth lifted the lid of the first box and gasped when she saw the contents. The necklace was exquisite. The large gems were grey-blue in color, with smaller diamonds surrounding them.

It was the most beautiful necklace she had ever held in her hands. Elizabeth stared at it before shaking her head and then closed the box. This couldn't be for her.

Opening the other box, Elizabeth frowned when she saw the bare chain of delicate silver. If she hadn't seen the first necklace, she would have found this one to be charming in its simplicity. But it was simple. Plain. Cheap compared to all the other pieces the Thorntons must own.

Elizabeth lifted the chain from the box. It was obvious to her that this was the one her mother intended for her. That's what her mother-in-law thought of her. That she was simple. Plain. Cheap.

For some reason, Elizabeth felt like crying.

 _I'll always be a second-rate daughter-in-law. Jack loves his mother. And she'll never see me as anything other than second-rate girl who trapped her son._

* * *

"Not that one, dear", Jack's mother said as she carried the glasses of lemonade into the room and set them down on the dresser.

"That's my favorite piece. Things have been so crazy the last few days that I forgot to put it on this morning. The boys gave it to me one Christmas years ago. They were probably 10 and 12 and used all their allowance to buy it for me."

"I've never noticed you wearing it," Elizabeth said in surprise.

"I ususally wear it under my clothing. Close to my heart. In fact, I wear it almost every day."

Elizabeth stared at the woman in confusion. "But - But -. But the only other necklace is this one", she said hesitantly as she picked up the box with the blue-grey gemstones surrounded by diamonds.

Mrs. Thornton took a sip of lemonade and nodded.

"That's right. I thought it suited you so much better than Grandma Thornton's yellow and white diamonds. This one matches your eyes perfectly. The stones are sapphire but they're more grey than deep blue. Jack once remarked that you had the most beautiful light grey-blue eyes. And I remembered looking at them the last time we visited. Try it on dear. The grey color will go perfectly with the pale green dress."

Elizabeth couldn't stop staring at her mother-in-law. "You noticed my eye color?"

"Of course, dear. You're my daughter. Well, I suppose you're really my daughter-in-law but I've never had a daughter until you. It's always just been me and my men in the family. It's nice to have another female. And I always wanted someone to go shopping with. Tom just flirts shamelessly with the salesgirls when he comes with me. We'll have to go next time you're in Hamilton. Wait until you see the new gowns at Salon De Mode. The organzas are pure heaven. Do you need help with the clasp or can you get it?"

* * *

"You spent a lot of time with Elizabeth today. How'd it go?" Jack's father asked that night as he and his wife got ready for bed.

"She's a lovely girl. I just wish she had more confidence. She always seems like such a nervous ninny around me."

"She does seem rather high-strung or on edge", Jack's father agreed.

"Poor Jack. With the thunderstorm going on outside, she's probably keeping his hands full."

"And another thing. Have you noticed how she told our son to be quiet at dinner when he started to tell us a story about a new bed he purchased? She actually told him to hush!"

Mr. Thornton chuckled. "That's how I knew she was the right woman for him. I've only ever heard two women who can say hush that way. You and her."

"What are you talking about?"

"I never heard another woman other than you say it that way. Until tonight when I heard Elizabeth. "

"I have no idea what you mean? What way?"

"It's the darndest thing. You both manage to hush your husbands in a way that makes the one simple word tell us to be quiet and that you love us at the same time."

* * *

Jack lay on the mattress on top of the fresh hay and watched Elizabeth, who was leaning against the stall wall with one hand while she took off her shoes and socks.

"I want you desperately", he told her as she put her socks into her shoes and then set them down in a corner.

"Desperately?" she asked skeptically with a small smile forming on her lips.

"Desperately."

"How desperately?" she challenged him as she took down her hair and casually ran her fingers through it, loosening the waves.

"If you don't get over here in the next five seconds, I'm going to come over there and ravish you up against the stall wall where you're standing."

"Exciting. Sexy. But not too comfortable I suspect", she responded with a smirk and raised eyebrows as she slowly began unbuttoning her blouse and walking towards him. "I think we can do better than that."

"Mon passe-temps favori." Jack reached up towards her and pulled her down into his arms.

"What's that mean?" Elizabeth whispered.

Jack pushed her hair behind her ears and looked into her eyes before softly kissing her. In one gentle move, he rolled her over so that he was on top off her, his arms supporting his weight.

"It's French for 'my favorite hobby'. And you do something French that is most definitely part of my favorite hobby,"

 **Up next: Chapter 37**

 **Dear Readers, If you've never used a flower-frog, toast rack, or egg topper, I recommend flower-frogs and egg toppers. But personally, I like my toast soft and warm, so I'd pass on the toast rack, no matter how expensive it is. :)**


	37. Chapter 37- The Calendar

Chapter 37 - The Calendar

"I'm sorry your mom and I won't have time now to visit you in Hope Valley, but I'm glad we had this time together."

"Me too, Dad. And the 15th should be fine," Jack said as he thumbed through his calendar which was encased in a soft leather folio with a thin monogramed brass nameplate.

"You sure?" the older Thornton asked.

"Yeah. It will be tight, but if the office gets our telegram today, they should be able to get the contracts ready and sent out tomorrow afternoon. That will give me enough time to review them, sign them, and put them in the mail back to you."

Jack closed the leather folder and put it back into this satchel. Despite his life as a Mountie, Jack still enjoyed this remnant of his upper-class lifestyle. It had been a gift from his parents years ago, and every January 1st he took the outdated calendar from the folio, and replaced it with a new one.

The two men rode back to the farmhouse in the Nelson wagon. Jack's horse, its reins attached to the wagon, followed behind as they traveled down the dirt road.

"Son, I can't tell you how happy I am to have you taking more of an interest in J. & T. Crates", Thomas Thornton said as he jumped down from the wagon when Allan Nelson pulled in front of the house to let off the two passengers.

"Thanks, Allan. If you could just put my horse in a stall and untack him, I'd appreciate it", Jack said before replying to his father.

"I won't be a Mountie forever, so it's good for me to keep in touch with the business", Jack replied.

He opened up the front door and the men walked into the front room of the farmhouse with its simple furniture and braided rugs.

"How's Elizabeth feel about that?"

"She doesn't like the Hamilton lifestyle. That's for sure. But she loves me and we want the same thing. To settle down and raise a family someday. With me in a safe steady job. We thought about ranching or maybe one day getting more into the family business."

Jack chuckled. "We just have to ease into it. She wasn't raised the same as mom so this whole 'society lady thing' is a little strange for her. I think she likes to pretend that part of my life doesn't exist."

"Speaking of the women, where do you think they have gone off to? I thought they'd be waiting for us with dinner ready when we came back from town", Jack's father asked as the two men walked into the empty kitchen and looked around.

"I'm just happy that they're spending time together. Elizabeth was worried that things would be strained with her and mother."

"They do have different personalities. I've never seen two Thornton women so different from each other."

* * *

The men looked up as the back screen door swung open and the attractive woman in the expensive clothing, her hair slightly disheveled, walked in.

"I need another beer", Charlotte Thornton said as she moved past the men, opened up the icebox, and reached inside it.

Jack and his father looked startled as they watched her pull out a beer bottle and then pause with the icebox door open.

"Beer?" Jack's voice sound strangled with confusion.

"Actually I'll take two more", Mrs. Thornton said as she looked pensively at the bottles of alcohol. "Elizabeth and I are out in the garden. We need more beer."

"Beer?!"

"Dinner's not ready yet. We've been busy", she said simply as she walked out the door with two bottles of beer tucked in her arms and other in her hand.

"Did that just happen?" Jack looked at his father in shock. "Mom is drinking a beer? Elizabeth is drinking a beer?"

"Oh my, God. Our wives have driven each other to drink."

* * *

When Jack and Thomas Thornton hurried outside, they saw Elizabeth crouched in the dirt between the tomato and zucchini plants. Empty beer bottles littered the ground around her. A row of small glasses, many of them filled with beer, were dug into the soil; their rims level with the ground.

Charlotte Thornton handed another bottle to Elizabeth, who looked past her when she heard the screen door slam shut and saw the men quickly crossing the small yard.

Jack chuckled and shook his head as he spoke to his father.

"I don't even want to ask. I'm used to seeing my wife do interesting and very strange things that totally perplex me. You, on the other hand, have got to be at a loss for words."

"Ahem, Charlotte. Are you feeling okay?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Because you're drinking beer in the garden. Has the heat gotten to you? The trauma from the train crash?"

"Don't be silly, dear. We're dealing with slugs."

Thomas Thornton looked around in confusion. "I don't see any slugs, dear."

"Look at the chewed up leaves! Thomas, we need to get to the heart of the matter. It's not what's on the surface. It's about what's going on underneath. And you might have to do some digging to get to it!"

When the men still looked at the women in confusion, Jack's mother continued explaining.

"We are ridding the garden of slugs!"

"By getting them drunk on cheap beer?"

Charlotte Thornton was pensive for a moment before speaking. "Well, I don't know if they will actually get drunk. I suppose I never thought about that. Elizabeth, dear, will they actually get drunk? And if they do, how would we even know? It's not like they would start singing loudly or acting flirtatious or getting into a brawl over a woman. For goodness sakes, they're just slugs."

Elizabeth smiled and shrugged at her mother-in-law. "I never thought about it either."

Charlotte turned to her husband. "Thomas, we're setting traps for the slugs. They're so attracted to the beer that they slug their way into the glasses, and drown. It will save the tomatoes and zucchini plants. "

"Why? We're only here until tomorrow. A train will be here tomorrow to take us back to Hamilton."

"Elizabeth's showing me how it's done so I can teach our gardener. I'm going to have him do it at our home!" Charlotte announced happily.

* * *

"You know how you sometimes get that look like you're wondering how in the world you ended up married to me?" Elizabeth asked as she and Jack brushed their teeth after a late dinner.

They were standing outside the barn in the near darkness with glasses of water and toothbrushes in hand as they got ready to spend another night in a stall of clean straw.

Jack spit off to the side and swished his mouth with water before answering.

"Yep."

"Okay, you weren't supposed to actually agree with me", Elizabeth said with a slight scowl.

"I thought we were always honest with each other", Jack reminded her with a grin.

"Not that honest!"

Jack chuckled. "What's this about?"

"I noticed your father giving me that same look earlier", Elizabeth said with a slight frown.

"Yeah, in the garden. I noticed too."

"In the garden?!" Elizabeth said in surprise. "No, I mean at dinner."

"Oh, yeah. I saw him doing it then too. When you were talking about getting a splinter out of your hand by putting a piece of bacon on it overnight."

"The bacon works!"

"Maybe. But it's extremely unhygienic. Use tweezers next time", Jack responded with raised eyebrows and a slight shake of his head.

"Of course he also got that look again when we were playing cards after dinner", Jack mumbled as he put his toothbrush into his mouth again.

"When we were playing cards?" a surprised and perplexed Elizabeth stopped brushing and stared at Jack.

"Yeah, you mentioned that you can make green tomatoes ripen by wrapping them in newspaper with an apple and sticking them under your bed."

"It works!"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes! The ethylene from the apple speeds the ripening, and the bedroom is usually warm enough. But not too warm or too cold! It's science!"

"It's weird", Jack said simply.

Jack finished brushing his teeth and wiped his mouth on a washcloth while Elizabeth contemplated her father-in-law.

"Do you think your father likes me?"

"Of course he does", Jack said as he grabbed the lantern.

"He's just worried that some of you is going to rub off on my mom. That's all", Jack said matter-of-factly. "Ready to turn in?"

A dumbfounded Elizabeth turned and hurried after Jack into the barn.

* * *

"Do you think your mom likes me?" Elizabeth asked as she stood by the stall door and pulled her nightgown over her head.

"Of course she does."

"How do you know?"

"She's planning our wedding reception. If she didn't like you, she'd be organizing our divorce", Jack said frankly as he fluffed up the pillow and then lay his head down, leaving a startled Elizabeth standing at the entrance to the stall.

 _Organizing our divorce?!_

"Organizing our divorce?! She couldn't do that. Could she?!" Elizabeth asked in shocked worry.

"My mom can organize anything. I've told you that before," Jack replied with a yawn. "Are you coming to bed?"

* * *

The farewell at the train station was rushed as the Charlotte Thornton had taken too long to pack her belongings and then spent too long reminding Elizabeth about every single detail of the upcoming wedding reception.

Elizabeth's head was spinning as she thought about the details. _Place settings, flowers, music selections, hot hor_ d'oeuvrs _, cold hor d'oeuvrs, seven courses, centerpieces, long white gloves._

Finally, the older Thornton couple was speeding along the train tracks back towards Hamilton, and Jack and Elizabeth were trotting through the lush green fields towards Hope Valley.

* * *

The days back after Colter City and back in Hope Valley were anything but relaxing. A new group of men had moved into Hope Valley to work at the lumber yard.

The single ones in the group had a penchant for drinking too much, and had already caused more than one brawl in the last few nights which kept Jack busy in addition to his usual work.

Elizabeth didn't find her nights any easier. The married workers had arrived with children whom Elizabeth needed to get acclimated into the classroom, which meant extra tutoring after school, and then coming home to chores and then preparing for the next day's lessons.

* * *

Friday morning, Elizabeth woke up tired and her mood quickly deteriorated.

It was bad enough that Rip had chewed through one of her favorite boots, but then Elizabeth had gotten a splinter in her palm as she glided her hand down the banister. Scowling, she was looking for a pair of tweezers when she tripped over Rip, who was lying on the floor.

"Why is that stupid dog always laying around?!" Elizabeth asked angrily.

Jack looked at the calendar on his desk and sighed when he saw the date.

During their short marriage, Jack had quickly learned that everything was his fault the day before Elizabeth's monthly hormones really kicked in. He had already marked his calendar for the remainder of the year on the days he knew it was best to tread lightly around her. Or simply avoid her.

Rip moved faster than usual as he scurried across the room to get away from an irritable Elizabeth. The dog padded over to Jack and lay his head on his master's lap, giving him a sympathetic look, as if they were in some sort of male support group which met once a month.

"It's okay, buddy. I know how you feel", Jack whispered.

* * *

Elizabeth cursed again when she looked out the window and saw the rain drizzling down. "Now my hair is going to be frizzy", she grumbled.

Jack and Rip remained quiet.

"Are you even paying attention to me?" she asked irritably.

"I like your hair when it's all curly and messy. I think it's sexy", Jack remarked pleasantly as he closed his calendar and put it in the top desk drawer.

"This from a man who has short perfect hair", Elizabeth retorted.

"And do you actually think there's any chance of you getting sex this week?" she said curtly as she walked into the kitchen.

Jack waited five minutes before following her.

* * *

"Are you making breakfast this morning?" he asked when he noticed the empty frying pan. He picked up the kettle which should have contained hot coffee, and frowned when he realized it was empty.

"No. I'm running late", she replied irritably as she blotted up the tea she had just spilled on her blouse. "Can't you just skip it? You don't need to eat anyway."

"I don't need to eat anyway?" Jack questioned with wide eyes. "What am I? Dead?"

"Skipping one meal won't hurt you."

"Did you pack me any lunch?"

Elizabeth made a deep frustrated sigh as she tried to control her temper.

"No, I didn't make you lunch either. Just get some at the Café", she replied coldly.

Jack sighed. "Elizabeth, I'm sorry you have this . . . this . . . this condition that causes you to get irritable but –"

"This _condition?_ "

"You know what I mean."

"Just say it! It's called menstruation. Should I spell it for you? M-E-N-S-T-R-U-A-T-I-O-N."

Jack cringed. "I don't need to know the details. Men like to be kept in the dark. It's a private matter."

"Please", she griped. "If men could menstruate, it would be a national holiday. They'd probably put your name in the newspaper when you start your cycle so people at the club could congratulate you."

Jack, at a loss for words, simply stared at Elizabeth.

* * *

It was two o'clock in the afternoon by the time a hungry Jack managed to get away from work and head over to the Café for something to eat.

"Jack, I'm sorry, we're almost out of everything. The new workers are eating my food as fast as I can make it. I've got enough soup for maybe one bowl if you want that."

'Thanks, Abigail. Maybe throw in some bread?"

"Sorry, Jack. All out. But I'll see if I have any crackers."

* * *

Four hours later, Jack frowned as he walked down the street. He was tired, overworked, and underfed. And he still hadn't received the contracts from J. & T. Crates.

When he opened the front door to his house, he was almost knocked over by Rip who came to greet him faster than usual in a desperate need for male bonding.

Jack sighed in exasperation as he heard sounds of breaking china and an angry curse from Elizabeth. His nose detected the acrid smell of burnt . . . something. What it had been before Elizabeth got ahold of it was unknown.

Jack hung his hat on the hook by the door, bent down to pet Rip, and then braced himself for Elizabeth.

"Hi, sweetie. I'm home", he called out with a false sense of cheerfulness as he walked into the kitchen.

Elizabeth, a scowl on her face, grabbed a broom and began sweeping up the shards of china which littered the floor.

"I burned the bread. But the rest of meal is fine. I don't think any broken pieces of china got in it when I dropped the stack of plates." _At least I hope they didn't. I am too tired to make anything else. How bad could it be._

"I ran into Mrs. MacIntyre on my way home. She gave me her son's book report. Apparently, he forgot to turn it in to you at school today."

"Can you put it on my desk please?"

* * *

"Elizabeth, when did you get this?" Jack looked curiously at Elizabeth when he recognized the J. & T. Crates return address on the envelope among the school papers on top of her desk.

"Yesterday. Sorry. I forgot to give it to you."

"I've been expecting this letter for three days! It's important! I need to sign the contracts and get them mailed to Hamilton."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I forgot about it", Elizabeth said with a shrug.

Jack shook his head irritably and opened the desk drawer to get the letter opener. He pulled out a large thick manila envelope which was on top of everything else in the drawer, and curiously turned it over to look at the return address.

"For god's sakes, Elizabeth. This is from Mountie headquarters. How long have you had it?!"

"It arrived the day before we left for Colter City. With my sprain and then the train derailment and our trip to Colter City, I kept forgetting to give it to you."

"That was more than a week ago! Elizabeth, you have to be more conscientious. This is our livelihood. J and T Crates. My job as a Mountie. You can't just hide the mail from me."

"I wasn't hiding it! I just forgot!"

"What other mail have you not given me?"

 _Darn._ _There is a piece of mail which I did want to forget about,_ Elizabeth thought as Jack continued looking through the desk and reached for a large envelope. Their address was written on it in swirling calligraphy.

"What is this?" he asked as read the return address curiously and then pulled out the invitation.

"An invitation to Suzanna Beachem's wedding?"

"I was going to RSVP that we couldn't make it and tell you about it. It's not that important."

"She was one of my closest friends in Hamilton! And you already decided that we can't make it?! How could you not show this to me? Are you that jealous of her?" he asked in disgust.

"I'm not jealous! I just hadn't gotten around to showing it to you yet. You just got home!"

"You are jealous. And I've told you before that there's no reason to be jealous. I've never given you any reason not to trust me."

"She writes you all the time!"

"She hasn't written me in over three months. Unless of course, you've been hiding more letters from me."

"Don't be stupid!"

"Stupid?! How am I being stupid? You're the one who messed up here."

"I said I'm sorry. It's not that big a deal!"

"What did you think was going to happen? Did you think that we were going to go to the wedding and Suzanna was expecting me to jump up and object during the ceremony when the minister asked if anyone objects?"

"Don't be stupid! . . . . But okay, yes! The thought did cross my mind!"

 _Actually, it crossed my mind several times. That and me telling her to stop writing you once and for all. And you agreeing with me and sweeping me into a kiss. But that's besides the point now!_ Elizabeth thought while Jack considered her words.

Jack looked at Elizabeth in disbelief. "You have got to kidding me! I have never given her any reason to believe that I would object to her wedding!"

"I'm not convinced she is ever going to stay away from you."

"She's marrying someone else! I am married to you!"

"People have affairs all the time! People get divorced!"

Jack gave Elizabeth an incredulous look. "What people?! Because I'm not having an affair. As far as I know you're not having an affair. And neither one of us is getting divorced."

Jack took a deep breath before continuing.

"My family business with Tom. My job as a Mountie. My friends back in Hamilton. Are you trying to ruin everything of mine that doesn't directly involve you but involves my life before you?"

"I'm not trying to ruin anything! We can't go to her stupid wedding. It's the month after our reception and we won't be able to get away from work again. Our life is here in Hope Valley. And I thought everything with you does directly involve me! We're married! Remember? You just said it!"

"Well maybe one person in this marriage should be accountable for getting the mail every day. If you can't be responsible enough to give me my mail, maybe you shouldn't pick it up", Jack said angrily.

"I can't believe you just said that!"

"Well, I did." Jack's voice was cold as he looked at Elizabeth one last time before gathering all the mail, picking up his hat, and moving towards the door.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go and read these contracts before signing them and sending them out. Then I'm going to read the stuff from Mountie headquarters. Then I'm going to write to Suzanna and congratulate her on her upcoming wedding. And then, I'm going riding. I'll be back in a couple hours."

"But dinner's ready."

"I'm not really in the mood to stomach your cooking tonight."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?!" Elizabeth yelled at him.

"That didn't come out right. I'm just not in the mood to eat. I'll be back later."

* * *

"Isn't Jack going out of town today?"

"He's leaving later this afternoon. We're still fighting", Elizabeth grumbled as she set down her tea cup the next morning at Abigail's Café.

"He came home still angry after our fight yesterday. I guess he was pretty close to missing some important deadlines because I forgot to give him the mail. He had to ask Ned Yost to open up so he could send some telegrams out last night. And then we didn't speak much at breakfast."

"Elizabeth", Abigail said in a soothing voice. "You need to apologize to him."

"Why should I be the one to apologize? He was treating me a like a child. Accusing me of not giving him the mail on purpose or because I'm scatterbrained" she responded hotly.

"It was your fault."

"Why are you taking his side?!"

"Because it was _your_ fault", Abigail repeated with a smile. "I know how insecure you get sometimes when you think about Hamilton and Jack's family. About how different life in the mansion is from life here in your simple row house."

Elizabeth glared at Abigail before frowning.

"How do you know it was my fault?"

"We used to live together. You are one of the sweetest people I know but I have to admit that I am glad I had a son and not a daughter because one day a month you get very . . . touchy", Abigail said as she tried to come up with the right word. "I don't know how your mother handled three daughters."

"And I know that Jack rarely gets mad. If I were you, I would apologize. You have a good man there, Elizabeth. You know that."

"He doesn't even want to talk to me. I tried this morning. Sort of. He's still upset with me. He told me that he is going to get the mail from now on. I told him that I was totally capable of giving him important mail."

"How did he respond to that?"

"Actually he didn't get a chance to respond because I started to burn the bacon and he had to put out the fire", Elizabeth said with a frown.

* * *

Jack wasn't in his office but his calendar lay on top of his desk. Elizabeth scowled when she saw it and immediately changed her mind about apologizing.

 _I can't believe he writes down my expected irritable days so he knows when to avoid me! Stupid calendar. I should just erase all his notes. Then he'll just have to take his chances and deal with me._

Elizabeth rummaged through his drawer until she found a gum eraser which Jack used for his sketching. Sitting down with a smile and determined look on her face, she opened up his leather folio and began turning the pages

 _The 9_ _th_ _? Why did he write down that it was our Anniversary and to buy flowers?_ _It's not our wedding anniversary. For goodness sakes, I would remember that. The only important thing we ever did on the 9th of a month was our first kiss on the 9_ _th_ _of -. Wait a second. Jack wrote that down?_

Elizabeth turned to another month. _First time we said I love you._ Elizabeth looked at Jack's handwriting. _He wrote down the anniversary of the first time we said I love you?_

Elizabeth started turning the pages of Jack's calendar, looking through each month. . . . _First time he ever saw me . . . Anniversary of the first time we spoke . . . . The day we got engaged. ._

Elizabeth leaned back in the chair in disbelief and wiped the wetness from her eyes.

Between the due dates for his Mountie reports, Court dates for various reasons, his family members' birthdays, and the upcoming wedding reception date, Jack's calendar was filled with Elizabeth.

* * *

Jack walked out of the livery and was headed towards the mercantile when he noticed the familiar shape of Elizabeth as she walked down the steps of the mercantile.

She was heading in the direction of home.

 _Obviously she has no intention of seeing me before I head out of town,_ he thought with an irritable frown.

 _I know I told her that I didn't want to talk about it, but still . . . I thought she'd at least try again._

* * *

"Afternoon Constable, you got a letter and a telegram. Telegram's marked urgent. I was about to send someone to deliver it to you", Ned Yost remarked as he looked up from his cash register and noticed Jack walking in.

"Wait a minute. Elizabeth was just in here. Did she know I had an urgent telegram?"

"She did."

"That it was _urgent_?"

"Yes."

"And she didn't offer to bring it to me?" Jack shook his head in frustrated disbelief as he asked.

"No. She said you would get it yourself."

Jack scowled. _This has gone on too far. Now she purposely isn't helping me get important messages!_

Ned looked curiously at Jack as he handed the man two envelopes, one containing the urgent telegram and another a letter.

Jack angrily tore open the telegram envelope first and pulled out the message. He read it twice before fully understanding its content.

He looked up at Ned, who quickly averted his gaze. Ned knew fully well what was typed on the thin slip of paper. Despite his curiosity as to the reason for the telegram, he had learned long ago that discretion was to be maintained at all times when transcribing messages.

* * *

Jack got only as far as the steps outside the mercantile before he decided he couldn't wait any longer to read the letter.

He sat on the middle wooden step, making sure to sit off to the side of the plank so that he wasn't in the way of customers who were coming and going, and ignored the dirt left by boots and shoes.

The pages of flowered stationary which he took out of the envelope were filled with the telltale signs of a female writer: curlicues and perfect penmanship. He recognized the handwriting immediately. He had seen it often enough.

She wrote about her feelings. About Marriage. Words she wished she had said before. About how long she had loved him. More words than she could possible fit into her short telegram.

* * *

"You're home. I wasn't sure you'd stop in before you had to leave for your trip", Elizabeth said in surprise when Jack walked in. She carried the small laundry basket to the bottom of the staircase and glanced nervously at him.

"I need to leave in five minutes. I just wanted to see you before I go. I couldn't leave things like they were."

"Did you get your mail? . . . At the mercantile? You had a letter and a telegram waiting for you." Elizabeth tried to make her voice sound casual.

"I did. Both of them."

"Anything important?"

"It appears that my one true love doesn't want me to leave town in a bad mood", Jack said nonchalantly, but with a smile forming on his lips.

"Well, I'm glad you got your mail", she answered. She bit her lip as she began to smile.

"Yes. It was a nice surprise. Two pieces of important mail in one day. Both from the same person. Who also happens to be my favorite person in the world. And of course it helps that she's a wonderful writer."

Elizabeth set down the laundry basket and looked down. Still unsure if Jack totally forgave her.

Jack noticed her smile falter.

"Elizabeth, I know it's difficult to talk about these things –"

"Sometimes, I just feel –"

"I know. But I love you. And I'm sorry too," he said as he stood in the doorway looking at her.

"Jack, do you think I'll ever fit into your lifestyle?" Elizabeth asked worriedly.

"Come here", he said tenderly.

When she walked into his arms, Jack pulled her gently to his body, encircling his arms around her.

"See how well you fit. Right here. Against my chest", he said in a low voice. "That's my life. Right here. That's the only lifestyle you need to fit into."

 **Up next: Chapter 38**

 **Dear Readers, If you haven't read my story "A Devious Scheme: An Innocent Woman", please check it out! Chapter 1 is a bit startling, but I think you'll be in love with Jack by the end of the story. :)**


	38. Chapter 38 - The Wedding Reception

**Chapter 38 – The Wedding Reception**

Elizabeth, standing in the guest room of the Thornton mansion, touched her stomach as it growled loudly. She had been too nervous to eat earlier, and now it was too close in time to the reception. She'd just have to wait until then to eat.

Tonight was the event that had been planned for months. After all the worrying, the details, the discussions, it had finally arrived. Her and Jack's wedding reception.

Her stomach growled again as she thought about tonight's menu. Light green salad, cheeses, consommé, oysters, chateaubriand with reduced sauce of white wine and shallots, roasted potatoes and turnips, beet salad, sorbets, wedding cake.

 _Gosh, it sounds fantastic. Charlotte was right. This is going to be incredible._

Wearing nothing but her lace and silk undergarments, she moved across the room to the vanity table and picked up the sapphire and diamond necklace which was cushioned in its velvet lined box. The jewels sparkled when the light from the room's lamps landed on them.

It was the most beautiful necklace she had ever touched. And it was hers. A family heirloom for the newest member of the Thornton family.

Mrs. Jack Thornton.

Elizabeth smiled when she contemplated her name.

The knocking on the bedroom door interrupted her thoughts and she set the necklace back into its case.

"Who is it?", she called through the door as she kept it closed but leaned against it.

"It's your husband. Open up and let me in."

Elizabeth opened the door slightly and peeked through the crack. "I'm not dressed yet."

"Elizabeth, I've seen you naked before. This is not our wedding day. I think it's okay if I come in", Jack answered with a smile.

Jack, looking handsome in a tuxedo, waistcoat, and bow tie, walked into the room and stared admiringly at Elizabeth. "You look beautiful but you might be a little under-dressed for all our guests".

Elizabeth returned Jack's appreciative smile as she noticed that his tuxedo fit his muscled arms and shoulders perfectly. His hair, which she always liked with its soft cowlick, was perfectly trimmed.

As he moved closer to her, Elizabeth noticed his crisp clean scent. She didn't know if it was from cologne or his soap, but she certainly liked it.

"I'm afraid of getting the gown wrinkled. I'll put in on at the last minute. But you can help me put this on", she suggested.

Elizabeth retrieved the necklace and handed it to Jack before she turned her back to him. She moved her long hair off to the side and over her shoulder, giving him full access to her pale neck.

Jack draped the jeweled necklace around her and hooked the silver clasp before allowing his fingers to linger on her soft warm skin. He moved them slowly. Deliberately. Caressing her skin with his fingertips before following them with his lips.

"Jack, stop. You know what that does to me."

"Uhmmm", he murmured as he began unhooking her corset.

"Jack! We can't", Elizabeth hissed.

"Oh, I can. My body most certainly can", he responded in a deep low voice as he put his hands on her waist and swirled her around, causing her to gasp.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth pushed her hair out of her face and hurriedly began putting her corset back on.

"What time is it?"

"Five fifteen."

"I'm famished"

"Didn't you eat already?"

"No. Why would I have eaten already? There'll be a seven course dinner."

"Elizabeth, we won't have time to eat. You should have eaten already. I had a huge late lunch when I was out with my dad and Tom."

"What do you mean we won't have time? We have all evening."

"We'll be greeting guests when the hor dourves and cocktails are being served. And when dinner is served and our guests are dining, we will each take one side of the room and go table to table talking more to the guests, thanking them for coming. We won't be able to sit down and eat. And then it will be time for dancing."

"But Jack. I'm starving! Look at me! I'll waste away to nothing!"

Elizabeth stood there with her arms stretched out in frustration while Jack's eyes moved up and down her body taking in the picture of her with her tousled hair and long naked legs.

"Uh oh. You shouldn't have told me to look at you."

"Jaaack", Elizabeth said warningly when she saw the look in his eyes.

"I can't help it. You know what happens when I look at you and you're barely dressed."

"We can't! Not again. We only have 30 minutes until we have to leave."

"I don't need that long."

"You need to wait until _after_ the wedding reception!"

"Sorry. Not going to happen. Not when you look like that."

There was a relaxed confidence to Jack's actions as he stood up from the bed and approached Elizabeth.

Without another word, he knelt on the floor in front of her and began running his hands along her long legs. Moving them up her soft skin. Starting at her ankles and going higher and higher.

"You shouldn't do that", she whispered as she leaned her head back and enjoyed the feeling.

By the time his lips were trailing his fingers, Elizabeth was already lying on the thick carpeted floor in anticipation of what would happen next.

* * *

It was six o'clock when Elizabeth exited the chauffeured car and walked through the large doorway of Dundurn Castle. The huge historic neoclassical mansion, former home of Canada's prime minister, contained the most exquisite ballroom in Hamilton.

The massive chandeliers cast a warm glowing light on the expansive room, with its marble accents and tables draped in linens and adorned with flowers.

Elizabeth, breathing in the atmosphere, stopped in her tracks and stared at the flower centerpieces. The tall vases were overflowing with beautiful white and faintly peach-colored roses. But the most astonishing part of the centerpieces were the thin unobtrusive ribbons intertwined among the flowers and pooling at the base of the vases.

The delicate ribbons were the exact same material and perfect beautiful pale forest green color of the expensive gown which Elizabeth was wearing.

Elizabeth reached up her hand and tenderly touched the thin elegant peach-colored comb which her mother-in-law had given her to wear tonight. The comb affixed to the back of her hair, near the nape of her neck, was adorned with small white roses.

She realized in surprise that Jack's mother had made sure that Elizabeth was very subtly adorned as the most important, elegant, and beautiful flower in the ballroom. Anyone looking at the centerpieces would unconsciously think of the exquisite Elizabeth.

"Can I help you miss?"

"No thank you. I'm the bride", she gushed. "I'm just looking before the guests arrive", Elizabeth responded to the waiter who was carefully ensuring that the place-settings on the table next to her were impeccable.

Elizabeth glided her hand along the crisp white tablecloth in front of her and admired the china settings, the silverware, the crystal glasses. Looking around the room, she saw identically decorated tables surrounding the wooden dance floor.

 _This is beyond anything I could ever even... dare to dream. It's like something out of a romance novel. But I've never read anything quite so romantic._

 _It's happening. It's finally happening. Our wedding reception!_

* * *

The pre-dinner cocktail hour was full of activity as Jack and Elizabeth stood by the door greeting their guests and accepting their congratulations.

The large ballroom was filling with elegantly dressed men and women, talking above the quiet sweet music of the violins and harps provided by the musicians off to the side of the room.

Smartly dressed waiters walked among the crowd carrying trays of mouth-watering hor dourves, while even more servers carried tall glasses of sparkling champagne, handing them to guests, between their trips to and from the bar.

When the last of the guests trickled through the receiving line, Elizabeth made a happy sigh. _The evening is going perfectly_ , she thought. _Its even better than I imagined it would be_! When Jack caught her eye, he returned her grin before giving her a quick peck on the cheek.

"I'm going to escort my mother into the dining room and mingle a bit before dinner. You look beautiful."

"Wait, Jack", she said quietly as she put her hand on his arm. "How does it work again? At dinner?"

"You start on the right side of the room. I'll start at the left side. Just go from table to table, thanking the guests, making small talk. They'll want to ask you questions about your dress, our wedding, our life in Hope Valley. It gives them much more time than they had in the receiving line."

"And the dancing?"

"It won't start until after the fifth course. Expect to get asked by most of the gentlemen. You should dance with everyone that asks, but no man should ask more than once. If they do, just politely explain that you're flattered but that you need to see me about something and then excuse yourself. I'll be dancing with the other ladies, but feel free to interrupt if you need me for anything."

"I'm not so sure I like you dancing with all the other ladies", she said with a smile and raised eyebrows.

"Since most of them are the age of my mother, or relatives of mine, or they're my friends' wives, I think you can rest assured that I will not be falling in love with them. Besides, you are the only woman I ever want as my partner, no matter who I dance with."

"Just keep remembering that."

Jack chuckled. "I told you once before that you're the one for me. The only one. No dance with another lady is ever going to change that. I'm the one that should be jealous. Every man in here is going to be staring at you."

"Well then it's a good think that I only have eyes for you." Elizabeth smiled and she ran her hand gently on Jack's arm. "But when do I get to actually spend time _with_ you again?"

Jack smiled. "That will be for the next sixty years. . . . And tonight in bed."

* * *

Elizabeth enjoyed mingling among the guests, accepting their compliments and laughing at their stories of Jack, as she made her way to the ballroom. She knew almost no one but everyone was so gracious and pleasant that she immediately felt at ease. When she spotted her few family members and friends in the crowd, she had to smile at how well they were fitting in. She tried to get their attention, but they were soon swallowed up by the large number of elegantly dressed people moving about.

"Excuse me, how long until dinner is served?"

"Another ten minutes, ma'am. We've just finished serving all the hor dourves", the white-gloved waiter replied as he passed by Elizabeth with an empty tray. When he noticed her frown, he nodded towards the inlaid wooden table by the front door.

"There's a tray of Belgium chocolates by the front door if you'd like a little bite of something until the guests are seated and we begin serving."

 _Oooh, chocolate!_ Elizabeth wandered away from the crowd and moved towards the front door.

* * *

The first bite was delicious as the chocolate melted in her warm mouth. She closed her eyes and let the taste linger.

 _Just one more. I'm famished._

Elizabeth looked at the large silver tray and let her hand hover over the assorted chocolates before selecting a square fat dark piece drizzled with white chocolate.

 _Yum, this one has a liquid filling. Tastes like a cherry liquor. Hmm,_ she thought as she took a bite and then ran her tongue along her lips as she felt some liquid seep from her mouth _._

 _No, No, NO! I did not just do that! Aaagh._

Elizabeth stared at the drops of bright red liquid which had landed on her gown and were spreading downward.

When she went to wipe it, she accidently touched the chocolate piece still left in her hand to her beautiful gown, leaving a brown smear.

 _No! Not on my beautiful gown!_

Frantically looking around, Elizabeth spied a waiter, carrying a tray of small empty used plates, ten feet away and hurried over to him.

"Excuse me, I need some club soda. Please. Quickly."

"Yes ma'am. I can get you some in just a moment."

"And a napkin!"

"Yes ma'am"

"Hurry!"

* * *

 _I cannot jus_ _t stand here waiting. Someone will see me. This is awful_ , she thought almost hysterically as she watched the waiter move away.

Glancing around, she realized that no one was looking in her direction, and she hurried down a long passageway in search of the kitchen.

* * *

 _Down the hallway, take a right. At least I think that's what the girl said. Is "gauche" right or left? Darn, I should have paid more attention to my French lessons! Why couldn't I find a girl who spoke English?! Yes, I'm sure it means right. Down this hallway and then the second hallway on the right. Oh dear, this isn't the pantry . . . or the kitchen._

 _I've gone way too far, and I haven't seen anyone since the maid to even ask._

Elizabeth turned around when she found herself at the end of a long empty quiet hallway. She opened the door on her right and peeked inside, finding a broom closet. Closing the door, she moved down the hallway to the next door.

When she pulled it open, she found shelves and shelves of linens. _Linens. My goodness I would hate to iron all of those._

Turning down another empty hallway, Elizabeth moved to the first door. She twisted the loose doorknob and opened the door, revealing the top of the staircase to a cellar. _Well, this is certainly not the kitchen! In fact, I'm much too far away from the ballroom._

 _Oh dear, I'm lost._

Elizabeth was about to turn, go around the corner, and walk back down the hallway when she heard men's voices coming from that direction.

"Yes, the Beachems. The daughter, Lady Suzanna, was recently engaged and I've been busy with driving her. Shopping. Parties. Quite the social season."

"They have a Chevrolet or Model T Ford?"

 _The chauffeurs! I am not about to let Suzanna's driver see me in a stained dress and lost down a hallway at my own wedding reception! He'll tell her and she'll laugh at me._

Elizabeth opened the door to the cellar, and hurried inside. Closing the door, she was plunged into darkness.

She fumbled around when she remembered that she had seen a chain hanging from the low ceiling. Breathing a sigh of relief, she pulled it downwards, allowing the single light bulb to illuminate the staircase. _Thank goodness for modern electricity!_

Elizabeth pressed her ear to the door, listening to the men talking.

" . . .it's got a nice European flare . . ."

" . . . Are the lights standard?"

 _Darn! Now I've got dirt on my dress_ , she realized as she moved her body slightly away from the dusty door. _Red liquid filling, chocolate, and now dirt. Could this get any worse? I'm a beautiful mess._

Elizabeth waited another twenty seconds after the men's voices had faded away before twisting the doorknob.

She twisted the doorknob again curiously. _That's odd. The knob is rotating but it's not engaging the spindle._

Twisting the knob first to the right and then the left, she pushed on it. But nothing happened. The knob just twisted loosely in her hand.

Her calm curiosity quickly turned to panic.

 _I'm trapped!_

She pushed and pulled on the door, twisted the knob, pounded on it in desperation, but nothing happened.

The heavy solid wooden door did not move.

 _No, No, No!_

 _Remain calm. Someone will come quickly to look for me,_ she told herself as she started to feel herself getting hysterical.

 _Let's think about this calmly._

 _No one saw me come down this hallway._

 _No one knows I even went down this hallway because I obviously didn't follow the maid's directions. Stupid French!_

 _Jack isn't expecting to see me because he'll be on one side of the ballroom talking to people and I'm not supposed to be with him._

 _My family! Yes! They'll realize I'm missing and come looking for me!_

Elizabeth's hope lasted less than a second as she remembered that, before she knew how much she would enjoy the evening, she had told her family and Abigail that if things became too tense, she may have to take a break and relax outside or in a side room. She had given them explicit instructions that if she needed a quick breather, they were to make up an excuse and cover for her absence.

She also realized that with so many guests, everyone would just think that she was somewhere in the crowded room mingling!

 _I'm trapped in a cellar far away from the ballroom._

 _It might be hours until anyone realizes I'm gone!_

 _I'm missing my wedding reception!_

Elizabeth slumped down and sat on the dusty top step of the stairs. She felt like crying as she looked at her stained dress and then at the dim walls around her. She watched as a small spider, clinging to its almost invisible string of web, crawled down from the ceiling in front of her face.

 _I'm missing my own perfect romantic fairy-tale wedding reception._

 _And no one even notices._

 **Up Next: Chapter 39 – The Lonely Basement**


	39. Chapter 39- The Lonely Basement

**Chapter 39 - The Lonely Basement**

 _I'm missing my own wedding reception._

 _My own fabulous wedding reception with delicious food, and music, and wedding cake with lemon filling, and tall candlesticks and beautiful centerpieces! And me in my beautiful gown._

 _Okay, so maybe my beautiful gown is slightly dirty, but still._

Elizabeth sat on the top step of the cellar and leaned her back against the door. _Well this is a fine kettle of fish I've gotten myself into!_

With determination, she slapped her knees, stood up, and contemplated how to get out of the situation.

She was disappointed to find that she was stuck on the side of the door that didn't have screws on it. _Of course, I don't have a screw driver_ , _so what does it matter_ , she realized.

 _I will just have to wait for someone to find me. How long can that take? Five minutes? Maybe ten? Certainly not more than fifteen._

 _Maybe I can find another way out._

* * *

Elizabeth slipped her feet out of her high heeled shoes, and walked down the narrow steps, holding onto the simple handrail. At the bottom of the staircase, she found another light chain, which she pulled, illuminating more of the vast cellar.

She shivered as her bare feet touched the cold dirt floor, but she continued walking around, pulling the light chains until she could finally see the entire room.

It was a huge area, easily covering 2,000 square feet and obviously running underneath many of the upstairs rooms. Shelves, stocked with tin cans, glass bottles, and boxes of supplies lined the walls. A few pieces of wooden furniture, just simple tables and broken chairs, and some gardening tools were haphazardly scattered around.

Elizabeth sighed in exasperation when she looked through the shelves and boxes and discovered that there was nothing there to help her get out of her dungeon.

When she spied a wooden root-box with its lid slightly open, she pushed off the top, revealing a pile of sawdust.

 _Please be carrots or parsnips, and not turnips_ , she thought hungrily as she rummaged through the sawdust until her fingers grasped a hard object which had been stored away after the growing season ended. When she pulled it out, she gave a weak smile.

Elizabeth ran her hand along the object, wiping off the sawdust and dry soil until the vegetable's orange color was revealed.

 _Carrots._

She sat down on the floor, not caring that the beautiful fabric of her gown would get even dirtier, and took a bite of the carrot, trying not to think of the people upstairs eating deliciously prepared steak and potatoes.

 _I've gotten into situations before, and everything always worked out. I was robbed on my way to Hope Valley, I burned down the teacherage, I was held at hostage by a fugitive, and I still ended up happily with Jack! So this will work out too. I'll just sit here and eat some yummy healthy carrots until I'm rescued._

* * *

 _Gosh, I hate carrots_ , Elizabeth thought as she spit out a dirty-tasting piece of her fourth one. She set down the leftover piece in her hand and climbed back up the staircase, hoping to hear someone outside the door.

Elizabeth figured that she had been locked in the cellar approximately an hour, and had climbed up and down the staircase at least ten times. When no one answered her knocks on the thick wooden door, she sighed and decided to take another walk through the entire length.

As she moved farther in the vast basement, she heard music coming from above her and realized that she must be standing under the ballroom floor. Unlike the upstairs with its myriad hallways and rooms, the cellar was one large open space, allowing her to easily move underneath the castle, from one side of the building to the other.

 _My goodness, they're having a good time up there._

A bored Elizabeth began moving her feet to the music, practicing her dance steps. She held her right arm out to the side, and raised her left arm 90 degrees, judging where Jack's shoulder would be if he was standing in front of her.

She smiled as she listened to the music and began swirling in her dress. Imagining that she was being held in Jack's strong arms.

" _May I have another dance after this one?"_

" _Of course"_

" _I've been wanting to dance with you all evening."_

 _He would be smiling, showing me his dimples. And maybe he would lean close. So close I could smell his soap, and he would whisper something sweet in my ear. I love when he does that._

" _I love you"_

" _I love you too."_

"Ouch! Darn that hurt!" Elizabeth grabbed her shin and began hopping on one foot. She scowled when she looked down and saw the metal foot locker which she had hit.

 _I'll have a bruise there tomorrow._

 _Imaginary Jack, you are a terrible dance partner! The real one of you is much better._

* * *

Every so often, Elizabeth would go upstairs and listen at the door again, hoping to hear someone walking by. But there was never any sound, and she realized that there probably wouldn't be. Everyone would be busy at the reception or in the kitchen.

With slumped shoulders and a hungry stomach, she went back down the steps, and walked around the room.

Finally, she took a bottle of champagne from the shelves. _Moët & Chandon, Brut Imperial. Hmm? I w_ _onder if it's any good._

After removing the wire cage from around the neck of the bottle, she grabbed a large swatch of her gown, which was now both dirty and wrinkled, and placed it over the top of the bottle. Pointing the bottle away from her, Elizabeth yanked on the cork. There was a pop and hiss as the bottle opened and a spray of the expensive fluid from France flew out.

Taking a huge gulp of the bubbly liquid, she raised the bottle in a toast.

"To the lovely couple, Jack and Elizabeth."

She took another gulp and raised the bottle again.

"To Elizabeth, the world's best daughter-in-law!" she called out.

* * *

The champagne bottle was half empty when the flickering light from above and off to the side caught her eye.

Running high along the south wall were several small windows, no more than 10 inches in height.

Elizabeth had realized almost immediately that even though the windows were out of her reach inside, they most likely were just above ground-level on the outside.

The sun had set, and she could now see the light from torches in the gardens.

Groaning, Elizabeth pushed a wooden table with uneven legs until it was directly under the window. She hoisted up her dress and climbed onto the table, scraping her knee on a chipped edge.

 _Darn!_ she thought as she looked at a small rip in her gown. _Good thing I'm a seamstress. Too bad I didn't bring my emergency handy sewing kit with me._

Realizing that she was still too short to see out the window, a tipsy Elizabeth climbed down from the unsteady table and grabbed a wooden root-box, heaving it onto the table.

She took a deep breath, picked up her torn gown, and climbed up again.

Elizabeth peered out the window at the guests who were mingling about the gardens as waiters carried glasses of champagne on silver trays.

 _This is kind of interesting. It's like I'm spying on them!_ she realized giddily _._

 _I could be a spy if I wasn't a school teacher. I could,_ she thought confidently.

 _Women have been spies. Elizabeth Van Lew was a famous spy in the American Civil War. . . . Of course, some people thought she was crazy. . . but still. . . ooh, two spies called Elizabeth. Wouldn't that be fun. We could have a spy club!_

Elizabeth was about to climb down from the table and get the champagne bottle to keep her occupied as she enjoyed her new hobby as a spy when she caught sight of a familiar form.

 _That's Jack out there!_

 _He's walking with his hand on that woman's back! I've been gone a few hours and he's cheating on me already?!_

A slightly inebriated Elizabeth grew angrier and more jealous as she watched Jack give the woman a hug and then saw the two laugh about something the woman said.

 _Why is he acting so friendly with her?!_

 _Who is she?!_

 _A former girlfriend?!_

 _I wonder if he likes her better than me._

 _I'll kill her!_

 _Oh, that's just Jack's cousin Gertrude,_ Elizabeth realized with relief when the woman turned directions. _The one who's seven months pregnant. . . She and her husband are lovely._

 _Oh my, her stomach is huge_.

 _There's her husband now. They must be leaving early because she's so pregnant._

 _Can you imagine the talk if she gave birth at my wedding reception?_

* * *

Elizabeth continued to stand on her tip-toes, wobbling slightly, as she clung to the ledge under the window and watched the people strolling among the torches in the cool evening air.

Jack was now talking to several young men, who were slapping him on his back in a congratulatory manner.

 _Jack, I'm right here. Can you sense me? Please look this way,_ Elizabeth pleaded in her mind.

"Jack!" Elizabeth called out through the sealed window as she pounded on it _._ "Jack!"

Suddenly Jack turned his head as if he heard someone call his name. Elizabeth caught her breath in surprise. _He heard me! He sensed me!_

Jack looked around for the sound of the voice calling his name.

 _Over here, Jack! You can sense me!_

Elizabeth began hopping up and down in happiness as Jack continued to look around the gardens.

"Jack!"

Jack's head stopped moving and he smiled broadly as a woman in a long silver gown walked towards him. When the woman with the attractive corseted figure approached Jack, she reached up and offered her cheek to him.

Jack, without hesitation, kissed the pale smooth elegant cheek.

Elizabeth gasped in surprise when she recognized the woman.

 _Lady Suzanna!_

 _That bitch!_

 _Why, you scheming tramp! You're trying to seduce my husband at my wedding reception._

 _Jack, turn away from her! You need to –"_

Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she felt the box slip out from under her.

She moved her hands wildly about, trying to grab something. She felt as if she were falling in slow motion as she first landed on the wooden table and then began to slide in her smooth gown on its surface. The hard table pressed against her hip, and she felt herself going over the edge. She reached out her hands to hold on, but it was no good.

With a thud, she landed on the floor in a crumpled mess.

* * *

 _Oh. That hurt. That really really hurt._

 _Stupid wedding reception. I never wanted one anyway! . . . . Well, maybe I wanted it a little bit._

A discouraged Elizabeth crawled on the floor and reached for the champagne bottle. She lay on her side, propped herself up on one elbow, and took a gulp of the cool bubbly liquid before moaning as she struggled to sit up.

 _All in all, this certainly isn't how I imagined my wedding reception would be,_ she realized with a sigh.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, a disheartened and chilly Elizabeth, not hearing anyone outside the door, climbed down the steps for the umpteenth time.

She seized a 40-pound sack of potatoes and dumped it upside down, allowing the contents to spill out onto the dirt floor. She then did the same thing to a second sack. And then a third.

 _Ouch!_ She winced when one of the potatoes landed on her foot.

Holding the empty sacks, she stepped over the fallen potatoes and climbed onto the top of another bag. Laying down, she curled into a ball, and covered herself with the sacks.

* * *

"Elizabeth."

"Elizabeth, wake up, sweetie."

A groggy Elizabeth opened her eyes and lifted her head as the sound of Jack's voice penetrated her sleeping mind.

"Jack! You found me! Help me up. My shoes are somewhere. Hurry, I have to get to the reception."

A smiling Jack looked sympathetically at his bride as he took off his tuxedo jacket and draped it on Elizabeth's shivering shoulders.

"Elizabeth, the reception is over. Everyone's gone home."

A dumbfounded Elizabeth stared at Jack. "But . . . but –"

"It was a wonderful party, but you missed it", he said as he reached out his hand and helped her to her feet.

* * *

Jack scooped Elizabeth into her arms and securely carried her up the basement steps, bending down to let her pick up her shoes at the top of the staircase before carrying her down the long hallway until they found a settee.

He tenderly set her down on the upholstered bench with its expensive ornately carved cherry wood frame.

"How did you find me?"

"That was my Mountie training and more importantly my experience with you", he replied with a chuckle. "I thought long and hard about us and I kept coming back to the same conclusion."

"What was that?"

"That you had gotten yourself into another predicament", he said with a grin.

"Weren't you worried that maybe I had gotten cold feet and run away?", she asked in amazement

"Why would I be worried about that? People run away with cold feet _before_ the wedding ceremony, not after", he reminded her. "Although, your feet probably are cold."

Jack picked up Elizabeth's feet and held them in his hands, massaging them tenderly to warm them.

"But I was gone. Maybe I had decided to leave you," she argued.

Jack looked at Elizabeth as if she had just suggested that the earth was flat instead of round.

"Why would you ever leave me? We love each other. I'm never going to stop loving you. And I assume you're never going to stop loving me."

"That's true, but still. . ."

"But still nothing", he said with a smile as he gently bent her toes back and forth on one foot and then moved his hands to the other.

"Weren't you worried that I had been kidnapped?" she asked, feeling slightly hurt by his assumption that she had merely gotten herself into a predicament.

"Kidnapped? Why in the world would I think that?"

"Because I was missing for hours! From our wedding reception!"

"Yeah, about that . . " Jack began hesitantly. "I didn't realize you were missing until most of the guests had left."

Elizabeth pulled away from Jack and stared at him in shock. "You didn't realize it?! How could you not realize it?!"

Jack shrugged and looked at her sheepishly. "It was a really great party. And there were so many people talking to me."

When Elizabeth continued to stare at him with her mouth open in shock, Jack hurriedly began explaining.

"I went from table to table talking to people. And then I danced with the ladies. And then my school friends corralled me and we talked about our days at school. A couple times I asked about you, but everyone seemed to think that they had just seen you somewhere in the crowd, they just couldn't remember exactly where."

Elizabeth frowned. "It was those darn flower arrangements. Everyone saw me in my gown at the receiving line and then they kept seeing the centerpiece ribbons that matched my dress! Subconsciously they probably thought they had recently seen me."

Jack moved his hands to Elizabeth's palms and fingers and began warming them between his own.

"How _did_ you find me?" she asked when he gently moved a piece of her disheveled hair behind her ear.

"I remembered how hungry you were and I asked some of the waiters if they remembered you eating anything. One of them recalled having told you about the chocolates and another one recalled that you had asked for a bottle of club soda. I quickly deduced that you needed the club soda to get out a chocolate stain. When the bartenders and waiters didn't remember you getting any club soda from them, I headed to the kitchen. I have to admit I was surprised that you hadn't been there, but a nice maid remembered pointing you in the right direction."

"She spoke French", Elizabeth told him.

Jack laughed. "I know. That's how I knew that you probably had not understood her directions and had gone the opposite way. Then I saw the light coming out from under the door down the empty hallway."

"I got locked in", she said feebly.

"Are you okay?"

"I hit my shin when I was dancing with imaginary you, and I hurt my hip when I fell off a table when you were being seduced, and I threw up in the corner of the room after having too many raw carrots with champagne. I guess I should tell the staff about that so they can clean it up. But otherwise I'm okay. Oh yeah, and a potato fell on my foot when I was making a blanket out of a sack."

"Well, as long as it was nothing unusual", Jack responded with a deadpan voice but a twinkle in his eyes.

"I missed our reception", she said sadly.

"It's okay."

"Why does this stuff always seem to happen?"

"Because life is messy. . . And I wouldn't want to be in a messy life with anyone but you."

"You wouldn't?" Elizabeth questioned dolefully.

"I wouldn't. Not ever."

"But I really wanted to go to our reception and I missed it."

Jack placed his hand on Elizabeth's downcast chin and gently lifted her face to look her in the eyes, which were starting to fill with tears.

"Well, we can't let that happen."

He stood up and reached out his hand to her.

"Come along, my wife. We are going to have our wedding reception", he said with a grin.

* * *

Jack and Elizabeth moved their feet, his in expensive leather shoes and hers now in high heels, to the rhythm of the music on the otherwise empty dance floor.

The musicians, who had unpacked their instruments from their cases after Jack had handed them several large dollar bills, stood off to the side and pretended to concentrate on their music and not on the couple in love.

If the busboys and maids cleaning the ballroom thought it was odd that Jack and Elizabeth were the only couple remaining at the reception, they didn't say anything.

The bride and groomed swayed back and forth through song after song of their private concert.

Elizabeth enjoyed the touch of Jack's hand on her waist. Despite her stiff corset which kept her from feeling his warmth, she could feel his strength. His security. That he would always love her.

"I feel really lucky", Jack said sincerely as he held her gaze after twirling her around and gently returning his hand to her torso.

Elizabeth suddenly felt her cheeks begin to blush as if they were on a first date. "You dance beautifully", she replied softly.

"Thank you _."_

"I'm so glad you asked me out that very first time when we were still just friends."

"Me too. It's turned out really well _",_ he replied with a grin.

Elizabeth thought Jack looked impossibly handsome and before she knew it, she was telling him exactly that.

Jack chuckled at her compliment, and Elizabeth noticed him blush himself.

He leaned over and whispered in her ear. "I love you. I cannot imagine my life without you."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows.

"Even if you didn't notice that you were _without_ me all evening?" she said with a wry smile.

Jack's face broke out into a wide grin. "Touché'. And it will never happen again. The next time we have a wedding reception, I am tying us together."

"How many wedding receptions are you planning on us having?"

"I think we should do it every year. Just so I can see you looking as adorable as you are right now."

"I am wearing a filthy and torn but very expensive evening gown and your tuxedo with the sleeves rolled up", she noted for him.

"It's probably not appropriate for everyday attire, but right now I think it is the sexiest and most adorable thing I have ever seen."

Something in the way he said "sexiest" made Elizabeth's body tingle.

"Sir, Ma'am, Your dinner."

Jack and Elizabeth, who had forgotten that they weren't alone, stopped dancing and looked at the man carrying a tray of food. He was wearing his coat and obviously ready to go home at the end of his work shift. Behind him was another man carrying a bottle of champagne, a pitcher of water, and two glass champagne flutes.

Jack looked around at the stacked chairs and tables which were already cleared and pushed together on the side of the room.

"Thank you very much. We'll eat right here."

* * *

They sat on the floor, surrounded by plates of left-over food as they ate, and talked, and laughed _._

"Tell me more", Elizabeth encouraged him as she swallowed another bite of chateaubriand.

"Well, I think Tim Smyth and my Aunt Gwen are smitten with each other."

"Is she the pretty redhead?"

"Yep. She's been widowed about five years now. Mom had them seated next to each other, and last I saw, they were dancing their fourth dance together."

"I'm so glad! What about Abigail? Did she have a good time?"

"After the third course, I saw her eagerly headed to the kitchen. She said something about wanting to learn how to make some of the dishes for her Café."

"And my mom, and Julie, and Viola?"

"Much to my disappointment your mother and Sergeant Johnson still thoroughly enjoy each other's company. I saw them wandering off together in the garden."

"I told mom it was okay for her to bring him as her escort. He's not so bad after all, and he makes her happy."

"She did seem happy. Almost as happy as Viola, who managed to keep an entire table of my old school buddies enthralled."

"Speaking of my sisters, I can't believe Julie didn't care that I was missing!"

"She and Tom were keeping each other occupied in the coat room. . . And I don't think they were looking after the coats."

"Oh my."

"I asked her once where you were, and she said you had just gone to take a quick break and you were fine."

"Yeah, I told my family to cover for me if I had to disappear for a bit. But what about your mother? She must have noticed I was gone."

"Actually, she didn't. All her society friends were here and she was in her glory as they complimented her and asked for her advice on some upcoming galas and benefits. And my father was busy sharing brandy with his business associates and making deals."

"But still. . . No one noticed for all those hours?" Elizabeth said incredulously with a shake of her head.

"Between the dancing and the conversations, and the magician, everyone was pretty busy."

"Magician?"

"Yeah, didn't my mother tell you? She hired a magician."

"Why?!"

"Apparently, it's the newest fad in entertainment. It was actually a really good idea. When couples were taking a break from dancing, he would visit their table performing sleight of hand stuff. He had this one card trick that I can't figure out. He took the deck and –"

"Focus Jack. Focus. I don't care about the magician's card tricks!"

"Oh, right. Sorry. Anyhow, everyone had a really great evening. You can read all about it in the society section of the paper."

Elizabeth, a fork in her hand, stopped eating and furrowed her brow. "What do you mean? Read about it?"

"Lulu Nestor, the journalist, was here. She's going to write a nice article. Well, at least I hope it's nice. She and Julie were kind of giving each other some competitive looks over Tom."

* * *

"Oh, that's good!"

"I told you."

Elizabeth, still sitting on the floor with her knees bent and her feet together and off to one side, swallowed as Jack sat next to her and fed her a bite of cake from his fork.

He had taken off his bow tie and unbuttoned the top of his shirt. His cuff-links were now in his trouser pocket and he had rolled up his shirt's French cuffs, exposing his arms. He held a plate in one hand and a fork in the other.

The room was quiet except for the two of them. Sometime between the chateaubriand and the sorbet, Jack had nodded to the musicians that they could leave. Sensing that this was no ordinary evening, one of the violinists had dimmed the electric lights as the men packed up their instruments and unobtrusively left the ballroom.

Elizabeth ran her tongue over her lips, licking up some frosting which had missed her mouth.

When Jack noticed, he leaned over towards her. "That's my job", he said suggestively before giving her a lingering kiss.

"I almost forgot", Jack said as picked up another piece of the cake with his fork and put it into his own mouth. "Reach into my jacket pocket. There's another part of dessert in there."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in curiosity and tentatively put one of her hands into Jack's tuxedo jacket, which she was still wearing.

"Other pocket." Jack nodded to the right pocket.

Elizabeth looked curiously at Jack before she reached her hand into the pocket and felt around. She crinkled her brow even more when she felt small smooth bean shaped items. Picking up one with her fingers, she pulled her hand out of the pocket.

When she saw the item, she threw back her head and laughed and then quickly reached into the pocket and pulled out some more.

"Oh, Jack, jellybeans! You remembered."

"I've told you before that you're not an easy person to forget. _Nothing_ about you is easy to forget."

"They are my favorite candy", she admitted as she put a red one in her mouth.

"Don't eat too many. I want your mouth available for other activities."

Elizabeth felt a heat go through her body as Jack set down his plate and leaned towards her, cupping her face in his palm.

She tilted her head ever so slightly to the right, and waited for what seemed entirely too long as Jack took his time, moving slowly closer until his lips met hers. It was just a faint touch, like a soft breeze awaking something.

She whimpered in frustration until he moved on her. Melting their mouths together.

When she pulled away, Elizabeth quietly spoke with such feeling that Jack couldn't help but smile at the honesty in her words.

"This is the most romantic evening of my entire life."

* * *

"Jack, do you believe in love at first sight?"

Elizabeth, wearing a new silk and lace nightgown, climbed into bed and turned off the light on the hotel nightstand. She pulled the sheet over her body and lay on her side facing Jack, who had already been in bed for ten minutes as he waited for her to change out of her gown and wash up.

"It's dark and my eyes are closed so I can't see anything, but I still love you, so I'm not sure what sight has to do with anything", he said with a yawn.

"You know what I mean."

When Jack remained quiet except for his calm breathing, Elizabeth continued.

"From the first time I saw you, there was something. Something pulling us together. Don't you agree? You must have felt it."

"Jack?"

"Jack, are you awake?"

* * *

Elizabeth quietly crawled out of bed and tiptoed across the room. She fumbled in the dark until she found her journal and a pencil, and carried them to the bathroom, where she groped along the wall for the light switch.

Setting down the journal and pencil on the floor, she went back to the bedroom, being careful not to wake Jack, and grabbed an extra blanket.

As she walked passed the dresser, Elizabeth noticed the opened bottle of wine. _Why not?_ Switching the blanket to one arm, she picked up the bottle and carrying her possessions back into the bathroom.

Elizabeth sat the floor, drinking the wine and thinking of her wedding reception before writing in her journal.

 _Dear Future Son or Daughter,_

 _I don't know when you'll come into our lives. It might be in seven months, or nine months, or a year or two, but I know that one day your father and I will have you. Tonight is our wedding reception and I thought it would be an appropriate time to give you advice on love and marriage._

 _1\. Don't marry someone who thinks you're perfect or you will both be disappointed. Your father knows that I am not perfect. He thinks my upper lip is too thin, that I am stubborn, that I snore, and that I get in "predicaments" as he calls them. But knowing all that, he still thinks that I am perfect for him. Not perfect, but perfect for him. Marry someone like that. Someone who understands that you have flaws and loves you anyway._

 _2\. If your spouse thinks that you're weird, you probably are._

 _3\. If you don't like your future-in-laws right away, that's okay. Give yourself time and remember that they loved your future spouse first and for years before you came into the picture._

 _4\. Don't make love (sex) before the wedding reception, unless of course you've been married for a while. Then you can do it whenever you want._

 _5\. If your spouse falls asleep after the wedding reception and forgets to kiss you good night, that's okay. He or she still loves you._

 _6\. Don't have carrots and champagne on an otherwise empty stomach._

 **Up next chapter 40**


	40. Chapter 40 - Poker Face

**Chapter 40 – Poker Face**

"Jack's and my anniversary is coming up", Elizabeth explained to Abigail as they sat in the older woman's parlor with Elizabeth sipping warm cinnamon tea and Abigail folding cloth napkins for the Cafe.

"What anniversary?"

"I know it's silly but it's the anniversary of the first time that Jack and I ever spoke. I just think . . well, that was the beginning of everything for us. And I want to get him a special gift."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"I was thinking about a pair of really nice boots. Nice leather with tooling on the sides."

"Sounds expensive."

"It is. But I have a way to earn some extra money."

"Sell some of your wedding presents?" Abigail offered as she smiled and looked at Elizabeth. The older woman had been astonished at the number of parcels that had been arriving in the post for the young Thornton couple every week since they had been married.

"No. Although, I did get several silver soup tureens that I will never use. But actually, I have a better idea. I've been playing poker."

"Poker?"

"Jack was late coming back from rounds one day last week and I was dropping off some homework at the Morrisons and discovered some of the men playing poker. I ended up staying a while and sat in on a few hands. There's another game tonight. I don't want Jack to know so I told him that I was going to quilting bee."

"A quilting bee? We haven't had a quilting bee in ages."

"I know, but I needed to come up with something in case he wonders why I'm not home. He said he was going to be working late at the jail doing monthly reports, but I need you to lie for me if he mentions the quilting bee to you."

"Elizabeth, I don't like lying.'

"It's just a little white lie.'

"It's not a white lie at all. It's an _actual_ lie."

"But he'll get me something nice and expensive as a present, and he won't even give the cost a second thought. He's just so used to having money and you know how much he adores me, that he'll get me something that costs a lot. Probably from Tiffany and Company. And then, I'll feel even worse for not getting him something nice."

"Elizabeth, it's not a good idea to lie to your husband."

"Please", Elizabeth implored.

"Fine. A quilting bee if he asks. But I don't think this is a good idea. And I don't like the idea of you playing cards with the men in this town."

"Oh, I'm fine. My ma taught me everything she knows. And Clint and I used to play a lot. I'm actually quite good. I just have to lose tonight."

"Lose?" Abigail stopped folding a napkin and gave Elizabeth a curious look.

"I won last week, but I need a lot more money. The men will be cautious of me tonight so I need to play poorly. Then, next time when we play, they'll think I'm an easy mark. That's when I swoop in and clean them out."

"Elizabeth girl, I hope you know what you're doing."

"I do! Last time, we played with a full deck. But I think we'll play with a stripped deck this time. I'm good either way. But I'll pretend to be all confused and lose some money."

"What in the world is a stripped deck?"

Elizabeth set down her teacup and began helping fold the white cloth napkins as she explained the game to Abigail.

"Poker used to be played with only twenty cards instead of fifty-two. Sometimes, players like to go back to playing that way. It's called a stripped deck because the deck is stripped down to the original 20 cards. You take out some of the pips. Or the suits."

"The pips?"

"Don't you know anything about poker?"

* * *

Three days later, Elizabeth dried the last of the breakfast plates with the dishtowel and put it into the simple wooden kitchen cabinet. She reached her hand behind the stack of plates and fumbled around grasping for something.

Pulling out her money jar, she frowned and jiggled the few coins inside.

 _I need more money for tonight's game and I already spent all my cash on groceries and those clothespins I needed_. _I'll just have to tell Jack I need more money for . . . for . . . something._

"Everything okay?" Jack asked as he walked in the room, buttoning up his shirt and saw Elizabeth standing pensively by the counter.

"Before you leave for work, can I get some cash?"

"Didn't I just give you some earlier this week?" he asked curiously.

"I need some more for. . . bread and eggs."

"Didn't you just buy some eggs the other day?"

 _Drat, I did!_ Elizabeth thought with a frown.

"Um… I broke them."

"All of them?!" Jack gave Elizabeth a shocked look. "How could you break _all_ the eggs?!"

"I tripped. And broke most of them. And then I used some in breakfast yesterday."

"I only had one egg yesterday", he said after thinking for a moment.

 _That's right. Darn, why does he have such a good memory?_

"That's because I accidentally burned the rest of them" she replied, thinking quickly.

"You burned soft-boiled eggs?"

 _Darn, I forgot we had soft-boiled yesterday!_

"Elizabeth, there are a bunch of eggs right here," Jack said pleasantly as he looked at the kitchen counter.

 _Aaggh! Why didn't I hide those or say I needed money for butter_! _And why is he so observant?! Why did I marry a Mountie?!_

"Yes, . . . . those are the ones that were supposed to be soft-boiled, but I overcooked them and then they were hard boiled eggs and I can't use them for anything, so I need more money to buy more fresh eggs."

Elizabeth realized her voice was getting a bit shrill.

Jack picked up one of the eggs and looked at it.

 _Please don't spin it. Please don't spin it and realize it's fresh!_ Elizabeth silently pleaded. She walked over to Jack and gently took the egg from his hand.

"Please. Jack, really, the kitchen is my domain. I need for you to just let me handle the groceries", Elizabeth said as she quickly ushered Jack out of the kitchen.

She held out her hand as he reached for his wallet.

"Now, off to work you go", she added as she took some bills from him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

After closing the door behind Jack, she slumped against it _. Oh, my goodness, lying is exhausting!_

* * *

Elizabeth walked side by side with Abigail, keeping pace with the woman as they walked down the street, sidestepping manure left by horses and the ruts left by wagons.

"I'll have plenty of time to play cards. I told him that I was going to tutor a student tonight before the quilting bee", Elizabeth said as she lifted her skirt in an effort to keep the hem clean of mud.

"Which one?"

"I conveniently forgot to tell him a name. Pretty smart on my part, I thought."

Abigail, carrying a basket of apples on her arm, paused to look at Elizabeth. "I don't think anything you are doing is pretty smart. You're going to get yourself in trouble."

"I am not. Tonight, will be the last game. If I win big, I can buy him the most gorgeous pair of boots he's ever seen."

"What if you don't win?"

"I will. We're playing Dirty Shultz."

"Who is Dirty Schultz?"

"Not a who. A what. It's a type of poker. And I'm very good at it. And just in case I start to lose, I'm not wearing any jewelry other than my rings. That way I can't be pressured into gambling more than I can afford. I've seen too many men stupidly part with possessions when they run out of cash. I will not be tempted like that."

* * *

The next morning, Jack, getting his shoes from the closet, noticed the glint from Elizabeth's locket as he walked past it. It was lying on her dresser; rather than around her neck. He tried to remember the last time she had taken it off and realized it was probably their wedding reception when she had instead worn the expensive sapphire necklace. Other than that, she wore it every day.

Jack picked up the thin chain and held it between his fingers. "Elizabeth, you left your necklace on the dresser. Didn't you wear it yesterday? And why aren't you wearing it today?"

"I took it off yesterday and just forgot to put it back on", she said as she entered the room and took it from his hands.

"But why'd you take it off?"

 _Why'd I take it off? Why'd I take it off?!_

"I didn't want the women to see it at the quilting bee and get jealous", Elizabeth answered after a short pause.

"Why would they get jealous?"

"Because you're such a wonderful husband and we have money," Elizabeth replied with a smile as she put the necklace around her neck and secured the clasp.

"But they must have seen it before. You wear it all the time."

"Um . . . yeah, but I don't want to show it off every day. That's a bit obnoxious don't you think?"

Jack looked confused. "I don't think it's obnoxious at all to wear a small locket that your husband gave you."

"That's because you don't have a jealous bone in your body. But some women, bless their hearts, they do", Elizabeth remarked with a sad shake of her head.

"Why didn't you just wear it inside your blouse where they couldn't see it?"

"Well, yes. . . that's true. . . I could have done that . . . but lots of times the women look at my bare chest and they would have seen it", she hurriedly added.

"The women look at your bare chest?!"

 _Darn, why did I say that?!_

"Uh, yes . . . of course. . . we . . .we compare skin sometimes."

Jack furrowed his brows and gave Elizabeth a strange look. "You compare skin sometimes?"

"it's a female thing. You wouldn't understand."

"Try me"

"We . . . um . . compare the color of our skin. To see . . . to see . . .who has the nicest solid pale skin without freckles and such."

"Without freckles and such?"

"Yes. That's right."

"What are _such_?"

"Um, you know", she answered waving her hand around evasively.

"No, I don't know", he informed her, waiting for an explanation.

"Freckles "

"You already said freckles," he reminded her.

"Birth marks, moles."

"On your chests?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Jack looked totally flummoxed.

Elizabeth paused for a moment, wracking her brain for something sensible to say.

"It can be boring at a quilting bee sometimes. You know when you pause if your fingers are tired. Or to . .. um .. . wait for someone to finishing sewing their square."

"You stare at each other's bare chests while you wait for someone to finish sewing their square because you're bored?"

"Really, Jack. This isn't something I would expect you to understand. And frankly, I don't ask you a million questions about male activities, so I really think you should be more considerate of my discreet female activities", she said with an offended voice.

Jack gave a sigh and raised his eyebrows at Elizabeth before giving her a kiss on the cheek and walking out of the room.

Elizabeth smacked herself on the head with her palm. _We look at our chests a lot?! Idiot! What was I thinking?! I could have just said I thought the clasp was breaking so I took it off to have it checked!_

* * *

Eight hours later, after locking up the jailhouse door at the end of the work day, Jack, a frown on his face and a determined look in his eyes, turned away from the building and began walking down the street toward home.

It was obvious that he needed to put a stop to Elizabeth.

 _That woman is more trouble than a fan in a feather pillow factory_ , he thought as he noticed several men staring at him as he passed by the mercantile. And the Saloon. And the stables.

It had started with the dirty look which Bob Jenkins had given him as they had passed in the street in the morning.

At lunchtime, it had taken Jack five minutes to calm down Bertha Gleason, who had come to the jail in an angry fit, and then it took another ten minutes to get the woman to finally stop disparaging Elizabeth.

And then Sven Pritcher had practically begged Jack to save his marriage, which Elizabeth had apparently put in jeopardy.

Bob Morrison complained that he was going to have to work overtime shifts because of Elizabeth, and wondered angrily as to who was going to do his chores around the house if he was working so much.

At the Mercantile, two more mill workers had glared at Jack and he could swear that he heard them whispering "Dirty Schulz", "Thornton" and "Con artist". When Jack has smiled politely and wished them a good day, one of them had rudely suggested that Jack should keep Elizabeth in the school house and away from their homes.

 _How does one woman manage to cause so much commotion? If I didn't love her_ . . .

* * *

"Elizabeth, are you going to your quilting bee tonight?" Jack asked pleasantly as he hung his hat on the wooden wall peg by the front door and saw her sitting at her desk, surrounded by school work.

"I may. I haven't decided. Welcome home. Dinner will be ready soon."

"It must be an awfully big quilt by now", he noted casually.

"Um. Yes. It is. Would you like something to drink before dinner?"

"No thanks. How big do you women normally make these quilts?"

"It depends. You know, . . . on how big the person is." _Goodness that was a stupid answer! "_ Did you have a good day at work today?"

"I did. Whose house is the bee going to be at tonight?"

 _Why does he seem so concerned with the quilting bee? It's not even real!_

"I'm not sure. You know, it changes from night to night", she answered, trying to contain her sudden anxiousness.

"I had a great idea. You should have it here tonight. I would love to watch you women as you sew with your nimble fingers. Square after square of quilt. Making a warm lasting memory of a bed covering for a big person."

"That's very sweet of you but I don't want to put you out."

"It's no problem at all. I'll just sit by quietly watching you thread your needles and sew the patterns on the material. I think it would be fascinating to watch. And I'll even avert my eyes if you ladies start showing your skin when you're bored."

 _Darn, he remembers that stupid excuse!_

"That's very sweet, Jack. But maybe I'll just stay home tonight with you."

"But I insist, Elizabeth. In fact, I already told several of the town women."

"You what?!" _Dear Lord, the women are already mad at me after taking all their husbands' money!_

"I invited several women over here tonight. They seemed very surprised. Apparently, they didn't know they've been making a quilt with you. They must be very absent-minded. And they don't remember any of their children having needed tutoring lately either."

"Well, you know how some women get. So busy with being jealous and with sewing and with being . .. women, that they can be forgetful. But Jack, I –"

"Perhaps your new friend will come", Jack interrupted as he sat down on the couch and took off his boots.

"My new friend?" _Who is he talking about?!_

Jack set his boots to the side and nonchalantly rubbed his feet before giving Elizabeth a stern look.

"Mr. Schultz. Dirty Schultz", he said dryly.

* * *

Elizabeth gave Jack a startled look. "You know?"

"I know. I just don't know why."

"I was earning extra money!"

"For what? And this better be good."

"To keep you in the style you're accustomed to!"

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"I wanted to get you a new pair of really nice boots for our anniversary."

"So you've been going to mens' houses at night."

"You don't have to make it sound so sordid!" Elizabeth shot back in an offended tone.

"You haven't helped by making it look so sordid!"

"I haven't done anything wrong!"

"You lied to me!"

"Okay, well, yes. That was wrong. Sort of."

"Sort of?" he asked with a surprised look.

"Okay it was wrong. But that's it."

"You had Abigail lie for you" Jack said sternly.

"Okay, well yes. That was wrong too."

"You apparently took Bob Jenkins for $15 of his money."

"It's not my fault that he's a terrible poker player."

"And you somehow convinced a happily married man to part with his wife's broach and give it to you!"

"That's not my fault either. He thought he had hit the Jackpot."

"Well, I'm sure quite a few men thought they had hit the jackpot when you showed up at late in the evenings at their homes trying to earn extra money.

"Jack!"

"And what about Sven Pritcher?"

"What are you Sven Pritcher?"

"Apparently, he had to give you his wife's weekly grocery money."

"I won fair and square. We were playing stripped poker and he lost."

"Strip poker?!" Jack stopped in his tracks as he was walking across the room and stared at her.

" _Stripped_ poker. Without any suits."

"The men took off their suits?!"

"No, not strip poker! Stripped poker. With a stripped deck!"

When Jack gave her a curious look, she continued.

"We weren't playing with a full deck!"

"I don't think you've been playing with a full deck for a while now", he observed dryly before walking up the staircase.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the couple had moved to the bedroom while Jack changed out of his uniform but they were still arguing.

"You don't need to spend a lot of money on me."

"Yes I do. You're used to expensive stuff", Elizabeth insisted.

"One of the first presents you ever gave me was a letter. I love that letter."

"But you gave me a pair of exquisite earrings that time!" she whined.

"So what? I loved what you gave me. What if I had made you something instead of buying you something?"

"Made me something? Like what?"

"I don't know. But if I had made you a gift rather than get you something from Tiffany's, wouldn't you like it?"

Elizabeth looked at Jack curiously.

"Like a piece of jewelry? Like if you made me a necklace out of straw or something?"

"Yeah. Okay. Go with that. Would you like it?"

"Jack, it wouldn't be very practical. If I wore it all the time, the straw would get wet if I bathe or am in the rain, and then I would smell like a wet barn."

Jack rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Fine, let's say I made you a necklace out of yarn."

"Well, that wouldn't be much better. The yarn dye would probably bleed and turn my skin a strange color."

"What if I whittled you something?!" he asked in frustration.

"Don't be silly. You don't whittle. Last time you tried it, you cut your thumb. Jack, I really don't understand this conversation. Are you trying to tell me that we're broke? Did you lose all our money?"

Jack took a deep sigh and looked disappointed. "No, Elizabeth, I'm not trying to tell you that we're broke. We have plenty of money. I just thought . . . I just thought you didn't care about money."

"I don't care about money. I just wanted to get you something nice."

"You could have made me a shirt."

"You have shirts handmade by the best tailors in Hamilton", she reminded him with a scowl.

"I like things made by you. And I thought you'd also like something handmade by me instead of store-bought."

"Well, I would! Of course, I would! . . . If you could make something. But Jack, the only thing you've ever made for me is my school house and I don't need another one of those", she said as if stating the obvious.

Jack shook his head in disgust. "You're right. Forget I said anything."

"Jack, it would different if you had time to make me something special, but I know you don't. You work all day on rounds and you've been working late at the jail with your reports. I know you don't have time to make me something. I mean, if you did, I would want . . never mind.

"What?"

"Never mind. You don't have time."

"Tell me", Jack said, suddenly curious.

"You draw really well. And it would be nice if you had thought about drawing me something."

"If you want something for the walls, I can just buy you a painting by an accomplished artist."

"It's not the same."

"It would be better. We could go to some galleries and pick out something really nice."

"I want something drawn by you!"

"Like what?"

"Whatever you wanted", she said encouragingly.

"Like a horse?"

"Uh, no"

"Rip?"

"Probably not."

"A landscape?"

"Boring."

Jack scowled. "So I could draw whatever I wanted, but not a horse, Rip, or a landscape."

"Don't get angry! I just thought that if you wanted to draw me something, it should be romantic!"

"Like what?"

"I shouldn't have to tell you!"

"You want me to draw something for you and it has to be romantic but you won't tell me what it should be?!"

"I shouldn't have to tell you! You should just know! You should _want_ to draw me something. And you should think of a romantic place and just draw it!"

"A place? Like a snow-covered mountain? Or a field with a rainbow? Or flowers along a riverbank?" Jack questioned with a shrug of his shoulders

"No! Like the tree where you proposed! Or the hilltop where you told me that I was the one! Or where you told me that you loved me! Or the Saloon!"

"The Saloon? Why would I draw the Saloon as a present for you? It's full of drunk miners, bad chili, and cornbread."

"It's where we first spoke! Where we touched for the first time. Where you used to tease me. It's where WE _began_! It's one of the most romantic places in the world to me! It's the beginning of us!"

Jack looked baffled.

"So you don't want a piece of jewelry from Tiffany's? Or an oil painting by a real artist? You want a simple drawing of a small-town Saloon?"

For some unexplainable reason, Elizabeth's eyes began to tear up.

"Never mind", she mumbled. "I don't expect you to understand. I'll take the earrings or bracelet or whatever you got me and I'll love them."

"Don't do me any favors", he replied with raised eyebrows.

Elizabeth turned her back to Jack so he wouldn't see her tears, wiped her eyes, and ran her wet nose against her sleeve. "I didn't mean it like that", she offered with a quiet sob.

"Just one more question" Jack said.

"What?"

"So, I was just supposed to somehow know that the run-down Saloon is the most romantic place in this town and whenever I see it, I'm actually supposed to think of you and not think about how loud and uncomfortable the room upstairs was when I was living there."

Elizabeth sat down on the bed and began wiping her eyes again. She didn't answer but simply nodded.

The mattress sunk in and Elizabeth's body shifted slightly as Jack sat down next to her. "And you'd rather have me draw something than own another piece of fancy jewelry from the best jewelry store in North America?"

Elizabeth wiped her eyes again. "That's two questions", she noted.

"I'm sorry for crying", she sniffled. "I don't know what's the matter with me."

Jack paused and looked down at his hands. "You know, I've been thinking that the Saloon is a romantic place ever since I first met you there."

She hiccuped before responding.

"You have?"

"I have."

"You're just saying that so I'll stop crying."

Jack chuckled. "I would do anything to have you stop crying. But, I'm actually telling you the truth. Well, sort of. I think where I proposed is pretty romantic, but I agree that the Saloon is special. I had a feeling it's your favorite place. . . .

. . . which might be why I've been spending nights working on this."

Jack stood up and crossed the room, picking up his satchel from the floor where he had placed it when he came upstairs to change clothes. He pulled out a rectangle frame, blew on the glass and then wiped it with his sleeve before carrying it over to Elizabeth.

"It's the Saloon!", she gasped when she saw the pencil drawing under the glass. The room was drawn in brown and black pencils, with light touches of other colors added in as subtle accents.

The drawing was the familiar room with the round table and chairs. The long bar counter. The staircase which led to the upstairs rooms.

Jack hadn't drawn any people, but Elizabeth was immediately taken by the details he had sketched. "My chalkboard!"

"You drew it", she added quietly in disbelief.

"The nights over at the jail when you thought I was working late", he admitted with a smile.

"You lied to me about having to work late? You were doing this instead?"

Jack looked a little sheepish before changing the subject. "Can you read the writing on the board? It's kind of tiny."

"It's from the first day we met", she gasped after she squinted her eyes and read the words.

"And look on the table."

"Books and slips of paper! From when I was looking for a way to save the women's homes."

"And the I.Q. tests we took. See. That one has a grade on it", he added as he pointed to the drawing.

"There's my boot on the floor!"

Jack smiled and pointed to the drawing again. "And that tiny mark next to it is your hair comb. From when you dropped them while explaining gravity and the law of inertia."

"That's my flat chocolate cake on the table, isn't it? From the cake sale fundraiser!" she exclaimed with a huge grin as she looked at the picture.

Jack nodded.

"And a banner from the Miner's dance! And this over here in the corner - That's the backdrop with us kissing! You thought of everything! You put all our memories into one drawing of the building."

"It really all came down to just one thing. I love you", he replied with a shrug.

Jack, thrilled that she loved the gift, couldn't keep his face from beaming.

"It's all right here. You drew our past together for our anniversary. Everything from the first day we met", Elizabeth said as her tears dripped down from her eyes. "And I didn't get you anything."

"Nothing?" a confused Jack asked. "What do you mean you didn't get me anything? What about all the money you won?"

"I had the money but then one of the mothers told me that her sister back East was sick and she wanted to go see her but she couldn't afford a train ticket. So I gave her some money. And then little Joey needed a new coat. He's been wearing his brother's and it's way too worn out. So I bought some material and told his mother that it was just some left-over material I had from other projects and I would be happy to sew him a new liner. And I gave the wash lady a big tip because she looked like she could use the money. I still have a lot of my winnings left, but not enough for your present."

"So, you got half the townspeople upset with you because you took them for all their money, you lied to me, we got into a fight, and now you don't even have a present for me?"

Elizabeth nodded glumly as she stared at the beautiful sketch. "Why do you put up with me?"

Elizabeth waited. And then looked up from the drawing when she noticed that Jack was still quiet.

"Jack, I asked you a question"

"I'm thinking."

Jack grinned and quickly ducked when Elizabeth picked up a pillow and pounded him with it.

"Hey, don't hit me! I'm the only man in town that's not still mad at you!"

Jack put his arm around her, and gave her a side hug. "You know how you feel when you stand on a hilltop first thing in the morning? There's fresh dew on the grass. Birds are singing. And the sun is coming up. There's a frigid crispness in the air."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"That's why I love you. You asked why I put up with you. That's why."

Elizabeth frowned and furrowed her brows. "Because I'm moist, bird-like, yellow, and frigid?"

Jack chuckled. "Because a morning like that makes me think that the world is perfect and anything is possible. That's it's going to be a beautiful day. That's the same feeling I get when I see you. That's why I love you."

"Oh, Jack", Elizabeth sighed as she looked at him.

* * *

Five minutes later, having pushed up her long skirt, Jack's hands ran along Elizabeth's bare thighs.

She unhooked her corset and threw it onto the floor, allowing his lips to move on the perfect skin of her torso and the swell of her breasts as he pushed aside the fabric from her thin cotton undershirt.

She loved the feeling of his pulse as it quickened. His warm breath on her flesh. The rasp of his voice as he told he what he wanted to do.

Elizabeth leaned back her head, pushing it into her pillow, enjoying the feeling of being underneath Jack as he moved on her body.

* * *

"I've got to go out of town for a few days next week", he reminded her thirty minutes later. They lay naked under the light-weight feather-bed cover in the room, now darkened due to the setting sun. His arm was draped around her as she nestled her back into his strong chest.

"I shouldn't complain. You haven't had to go anywhere since our wedding reception."

Jack ran his hands along her arms and kissed her lightly. "Hmm. I know. And I have enjoyed every minute of being with you. Best six weeks of my life."

"And you were in town nonstop for a few weeks before that", Elizabeth said with sudden realization. She pulled away from Jack and sat up with a curious look on her face. "When was the last time you went out of town?"

"I don't know. Maybe two months."

"Two months?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"We've been together a lot in the last two months", she said hesitantly as she pulled the sheet up to cover her naked breasts.

Jack chuckled. "You tired of me already?"

"We've been intimate almost every night", Elizabeth remarked pensively. "Every _single_ night."

"Are you still bothered that I fell asleep the night of our wedding reception? Cuz if you remember, we were together twice that day _before_ the reception."

"Twice", he repeatedly proudly.

"Every night. No interruptions. No days off", Elizabeth said quietly to herself.

"I heard that." Jack said with a frown. "You want _days off_? I'm not so sure I like that sound of that."

"Hush. That's not what I meant. Jack, when was the last time we went more than a day or two without being together?"

"I have no idea. Why does it matter?"

"It just matters!"

"Why?"

"Because we shouldn't have been together so much!"

"We shouldn't have been?" Jack snickered.

"I'm serious! We shouldn't have been together every night for the past two months! There should have been days of interruptions. Reasons why we didn't get together."

Jack laughed and reached out to her, pulling her back to him. "Is this some kind of small town country rule?"

"Umm. No. Actually, it's more of a biology rule."

"A biology rule? What are you talking about?"

"Jack, when was the last time you looked at your calendar?"

"My calendar? Why? What is going on with you?"

Elizabeth looked down at her stomach and smiled as she thought of the possibility. The probability. "Quite a bit maybe."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think I may have a present for you after all. Something homemade", she told him with a grin. "It just may be several months until you can hold it."

 **Up next: Chapter 41.**


	41. Chapter 41 -Pie

_**Chapter 41 – Pie**_

The evening sun was coming through the window pane and filtering through Elizabeth's hair as she sat at her desk in the parlor when Jack walked in the front door. As he strode a few steps and then leaned down towards her, she stretched her neck and offered her face to him.

Preoccupied with her work, she casually accepted a kiss on the cheek but then quickly turned away, trying not to gag.

"Bath, Jack. You need a bath", she announced as she crinkled her nose at his offensive smell.

Jack, wearing denim pants, a faded shirt, and his dark brown leather jacket, frowned and looked down at his clothes. "I've been on rounds. I'm no dirtier than usual", he responded in confusion.

"Well, you stink. All sweaty."

"You usually like the way I smell when I come back from rounds. You said that it's manly."

"I must have been delusional. Because it's gross", Elizabeth said simply before turning her attention back to the papers on her desk and waving him away. "Dinner's in the oven. Hurry up and get cleaned up and then we'll eat."

Jack, slightly offended by her response to him but willing to put up with anything because she was pregnant, strode across the room and paused at the bottom step of the staircase with his hand on the wooden banister. "Elizabeth?"

'Uh huh?"

"Don't you want to join me?"

"Join you?" Her voice was distracted as she continued to look at the sheets of paper on her desk. With the pencil in her hand, she made a correction to the student's test in front of her.

"For a bath?"

"Why would I join you? I'm clean. And I'm working. And dinner is almost ready."

"Because normally when I take a bath, you like to join me for . . . you know."

Elizabeth, looked up from her work, raised her eyebrows and gave Jack a humorous look. "Really, Jack, I think you should just take your bath. And hurry up. I don't want the chicken to get dry."

* * *

"How did the murder investigation go?" Elizabeth asked twenty minutes later as she set a basket of warm rolls on the table while Jack, his hair still wet from bathing, filled their glasses with water.

"I'm still at a loss as to who did it. The man wasn't loved by anyone. And he was far enough out of town that anyone could have done it without witnesses."

Jack thought about the man he had found four days earlier in a ditch when he had been on his rounds. Traveling through an open field of tall grass on the boundaries of several farms, he had come across the dying Frederick Smot, a cantankerous farmer who was barely making a living on his land and preferred to drink rather than sow the seeds for a decent crop.

"Are you still sure that he was killed by a pitchfork?"

"Yeah. I'm sure. The wounds are a perfect match for the prongs of a pitchfork. Unfortunately, every farmer and rancher has a pitchfork or two."

"What about motive? Every farmer and rancher can't have wanted to kill him."

"You know how nasty he was. His let his animals wander into other people's land, destroying their crops. He drank too much. He borrowed farm equipment and returned it broken. And he was known to make some rude remarks to some of the women in town. As angry a drunk as he could be, I wouldn't be surprised if he was killed in some unpremeditated fight."

"You'll figure it out", Elizabeth said encouragingly as she sat down across from her husband and placed a napkin across her lap. "And if you need any help, I can always give you advice. I am a very good judge of people."

* * *

The next morning, Jack, who had slept fitfully that night with thoughts of the murder investigation, walked in the bedroom doorway and across the room with its double bed and sparse, but attractive, furniture. Elizabeth had recently added new lace curtains to the windows and a pale yellow rug on the floor. He smiled when he glanced at his recent present to her, his sketch of the Saloon, which hung on the wall.

"Good morning, sleepy head."

Elizabeth, dressed in a simple skirt and blouse, was standing by the dresser trying to decide between two different hair combs to wear for the day. He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed the side of her neck, letting his lips linger on her soft skin.

"Ugh! What is that smell?" Elizabeth furrowed her brow and shrugged him away.

"It's my after-shave. I just shaved for you."

"It stinks. Can you please go wash your face?"

"Go wash my face?"

Jack ran his hand along his smooth face and stared curiously at his wife. "You normally love the smell of this stuff. You picked it out last time we were in Hamilton. You said it was sexy."

"It must have gone bad."

"It didn't go bad. It smells the same as always."

"Jack, please."

"You want me to go wash my face?"

"Yes, please. It's disgusting smelling."

Jack wearily shook his head and left the room wondering how sexy had so quickly become disgusting.

* * *

"What are your plans for today?" Elizabeth asked as Jack came downstairs with a freshly washed face. She set down a cup of hot coffee on the table for him and gave him an appreciative smile.

"I'm going to interview every man in a five-mile radius. Someone has got to remember something or slip up and give me a clue as to the murderer."

"That's almost 80 square miles! It will take all day."

Jack's hand froze with his cup in mid-air, and he gave her a look of amazement. "Did you just do that math in your head?"

"Sure. Five miles squared is 25. And 25 miles times 3.14 is 78.5 miles."

"You amaze me."

"That's my job. To keep you constantly amazed", she said with a warm smile as she put a plate of scrambled eggs and thick slabs of bacon in front of him.

* * *

The sun was low in the sky, as Jack walked up the two steps to front porch, scrapped the dirt off his boots, and opened the front door.

Somebody, either a resident of Hope Valley or a person traveling by, had murdered Frederick Smot, and was getting away with it.

Jack had interviewed every person he could think of, examined the crime scene, picked through Smot's meager belongings of the man's decrepit home, and yet Jack still wasn't much closer to getting to the truth than he had been the day he found the body.

"Hey there. How was your day?" he asked when he saw Elizabeth sitting on the couch, looking relaxed and pretty. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Which was out of the ordinary considering it was Elizabeth.

Her pregnancy was his first close experience with an expectant woman and he thought that she was handling the whole thing very well. Other than a few mornings of a queasy stomach, she had none of the morning sickness which he had heard plagued other women. On a few evenings, he had found her napping on the couch, a book across her lap or fallen on the floor, but even that was not so unusual given her busy workload of teaching and maintaining a home.

Still, Jack felt himself wondering every day what strange things she would say or do. She had already sworn off eating any candy, insisted on having two glasses of milk and an apple every day, and banished all flowers from inside the house and entirely avoided them outside, which wasn't a problem as the weather was getting too cold for flowers anyway.

 _Flower sniffs today, frequent sniffles_ _tomorrow_ , she had informed Jack as she had thrown out a bouquet and explained that a pregnant woman who sniffed flowers was more likely to have a child with allergies. Or so it was said in her home town.

"I've had a good day. But we have ants. After you wash up, can you help me kill them?" She set down the hard-covered book which she had been reading and smiled at him.

"I need to wash up?"

Elizabeth crossed the room and stood one foot away from Jack, sniffing the air around him before frowning. She didn't say a word, but instead gave him the look. The look a mother gives a small child when the answer is obvious.

* * *

Thirty-five minutes later, a freshly cleaned, but now frustrated, Jack stood in the doorway of the kitchen holding a dishrag dipped in bleach. "Elizabeth, I don't see any ants. Where'd you see them?"

"I didn't."

"What do you mean you didn't? You said we had ants."

"We do. But I didn't _see_ them. I smelled them." Elizabeth's answer was simple. As if it were the most usual thing in the world to be able to smell the insects.

Jack shook his head in mild annoyance. "You cannot _smell_ ants."

"Of course I can. All Thatcher women can when they're pregnant."

Jack pulled out a kitchen chair and slumped down into it. "I have just spent ten minutes looking behind every jar on the counter, inside the cabinets, and along the floorboards for nonexistent ants."

"They do exist!" Elizabeth countered. "I told you. I smelled them!"

"You're trying to tell me that you can smell tiny ants?"

"It's the formic acid. Ants have formic acid!" Elizabeth said in indignation.

"What exactly do they smell like?" Jack asked with a now amused tone.

"Like Stinging Nettles."

"What do Stinging Nettles smell like?"

"Like ants, of course", Elizabeth replied as if the answer were obvious.

* * *

"I can't take this, Abigail. She's got me taking a bath every day after work. She can't stand the smell of my aftershave. I've had to change my brand of soaps twice", Jack said a few days later as he sat at a table at Abigail's café.

"I've heard that some women have a heightened sense of smell during the first months of pregnancy", Abigail offered as she put a bowl of steaming soup in front of Jack. "It shouldn't last much longer."

"I can't even have fish soup. She says the smell of it makes her want to throw the bowl out the window. Without bothering to take the time to open the window."

"That bad?"

"She won't make me anything to eat if it has any taste whatsoever because she notices it when she kisses me. After eating this, I'll have to brush my teeth, gargle, and wash my face."

"You're a good husband", Abigail said with a laugh.

"I don't even feel like a man anymore. I feel like a bottle of antiseptic."

* * *

By the time, Elizabeth left the schoolhouse at end of the workday, she had cleaned the children up enough to send them home with notes to their parents about their unsettled appearances, cleaned up the schoolhouse floor, and vowed to never again tell the students what subjects they would be studying the next day.

The day had not gone at all according to plan.

 _My goodness, I wonder if other teachers have this much trouble_ , she thought in bewilderment as she walked home with purple-blue stains on her once pristine white skirt.

* * *

Jack walked into the kitchen where Elizabeth, with a metal utensil in her hand, was brutally mashing potatoes and he knew immediately that her day hadn't gone well. He was just glad that the root vegetables were getting the brunt of her frustration. "Bad day?"

"Horrible. It was pi day."

"Sounds yummy. What's pie day?"

"Not yummy pie. 3.1415 pi", Elizabeth explained with a frustrated sigh. "I was trying to teach higher concepts of math."

Jack chuckled. "I can imagine the students got upset when they discovered you were talking about math."

"It's your fault", she grumbled.

"My fault? How in the world was it my fault? Other than I am a man and you are pregnant. And I am responsible for that fact. And therefore, everything that goes wrong with anything is my fault."

"Oh, hush", she retorted but gave him a faint smile. "It's your fault because you made me think of pi when we were discussing you interviewing every man in a five mile radius and you were impressed with my math."

"I was impressed with your math. Lots of things about you impress me. But we can discuss those other things another time." Jack, a twinkle in his eye, gave her a knowing smile. "Tell me about your students first."

"Yesterday, I told the class that we would be studying pi in school today, and so apparently most of them didn't bother bringing lunch today because they thought we'd be eating pie. For Pete's sake, why would they think we'd be eating pie?"

"Um. . . because you told them it was pie day and because you're their teacher."

"How was I supposed to know that they mistook the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter for something to eat? Do I have to teach them everything?!"

"You are the teacher," Jack pointed out.

"I can see that you're taking their side", she grumbled and glared at him.

"Come on, Elizabeth. You have to admit that eating pie sounds a lot better than learning math. So, what happened?"

"First, Mabel gave me a note from her mother explaining that she was already worried about Mabel's weight and she certainly didn't want her eating dessert in school. I had no idea what she was talking about.

And when Mrs. Tomlinson dropped off her son, she said that she hoped I wasn't the one responsible for pie. When I said that of course I wasn't responsible for pi, it's Greek, she gave me the oddest look and said she didn't know we had any Greeks living in Hope Valley.

Jack gave her a look of amusement. "When did you figure it out?"

"During English lesson. All through the lesson, the kids kept talking about what kind of pies we would be having and talking about their favorite kinds."

"How did the students take it when you told them?"

"They were awful!"

"It couldn't have been that bad", Jack said with a chuckle.

"When I explained that we would be studying pi and not _pie_ , they accused me of tricking them. I tried to explain that they had misunderstood, but they just slumped down in the seats and whispered about me. But I could hear them anyway.

"What did they whisper?"

"That I had probably eaten all the pie and just didn't want to share it with them."

Elizabeth gave Jack a frown when she saw him grin.

"And then they told me that not only did they not bring lunch, but they hadn't eaten breakfast because they were waiting for pie and wanted to have room in their stomachs for lots of different kinds."

"This doesn't sound good", Jack with a grimace as he watched Elizabeth getting more and more agitated as she remembered her day.

"Debbie stood up and said that if she didn't get pie, she was going to faint from starvation, and she proceeded to put her hand to her forehead and collapse on the ground.

The twins, Bobby and Robby, didn't realize she was just being theatrical, and they started sobbing hysterically. Bobby . . . or maybe it was Robby . . . cried that he didn't want people dying in class.

When I explained that fainting is not the same as dying and that Debbie was not even going to faint, Cindy started sobbing and asked 'Don't you like us? Don't you care if we die from starvation?'

And Debbie just lay on the ground moaning and making weak movements. Feebly flapping her hand back and forth."

"Oh dear."

"When I finally convinced the younger students that Debbie was not dying, but she was going to get detention, Mary Sue started crying and said she had been thinking about pies all night and her family never has any because they're too poor for dessert. And that I wouldn't understand being poor because I was married to the rich Mountie Jack and probably have pie every day."

And then Tommy reminded the class that I had probably eaten all the pie and maybe I wasn't really pregnant and just getting fat.

Timmy started crying because he's poor and Santa doesn't like poor children."

"Santa? What in the world does Santa have to do with pie?"

"Nothing! But Timmy's Pa told him that Santa wouldn't be able to bring them a lot of presents for Christmas, so Timmy asked me, 'Why doesn't Santa love poor kids?'"

"Oh dear."

"By now most of the younger students were in tears. Half of them were crying because they thought that Debbie was dying and the other half were crying because they thought that Santa hates them.

And Debbie was still lying on the ground, but now she was whimpering 'Pie. Pie. I neeeed pie.'"

"What happened next?" Jack turned his back, washing his hands in the sink, and conveniently hiding the smile on his face.

"I explained that perhaps Santa couldn't get to all the houses because of too much snow last year, but I'm sure he would try his best this year."

"That should have made them feel better."

"It did. For about two seconds. Until Patrick mentioned the Donner party and how they were trapped by snow while traveling to California and they had to resort to eating each other to keep from dying of starvation."

"Good God!"

"Their eyes got huge and they looked at me in complete horror. Debbie managed to prop herself up on one elbow and gallantry yell out. 'Eat me. Eat me first. I will sacrifice myself.' Then she flopped back to the floor.

Her little sister started wailing, 'I don't waaaant to eeeat my sissster', and ran over to Debbie and started tugging on her, trying to pull her up off the floor.

So Debbie heroically cries out 'I forgive you all' and collapses again. Then she licks her arm and weakly says "yummy."

Jack stood there stunned for a minute before finally thinking of something safe to say.

"What did you do?"

"What else could I do? I gave Debbie and Patrick detention and then I had to send one of the students to go get some pies from Abigail. . . . By the way, we owe her $3.00."

"Well, at least everything worked out", Jack said encouragingly.

"Oh sure. Yeah. It all worked out", Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"It didn't work out?"

"It took me ten minutes to convince some of the girls that they could stop sitting on their hands and that Patrick was not eyeing their fingers as if they were appetizers."

"That's not so bad."

"I haven't told you everything."

"What else?" Jack asked warily.

"It turns out that Michael is mildly allergic to pecans, and he doesn't care. So he ate a piece of pecan pie."

"Did he start itching?"

"Vomiting. Which of course made the other students vomit. And before I knew it, there was purple vomit everywhere."

"Purple?"

"Most of the students had already wolfed down the blueberry pie."

"At least you were okay. That stuff never affects you", Jack said as he remembered how Elizabeth had once taken care of him when he had been sick and hadn't been affected by his nausea.

"Yeah. Apparently, that's only when I'm not pregnant."

"You didn't?" he asked cautiously.

"I did. I am now the teacher that vomits in the classroom. I dismissed class early when they referred to me as Throw-up Thornton."

When Jack just looked at Elizabeth with a bewildered look as to how she managed to get herself in these situations, she sighed and continued.

"I had to send notes home to all the parents explaining that I do not teach the children about cannibalism during math lessons, and that as far as I know, a family of Greeks did not move to Hope Valley.

One of the fathers suggested that perhaps I should stay home while pregnant. When I reminded him that I would be pregnant for several more months, he just nodded and said 'Yep.' And in addition to the money I owe Abigail for the pies, I also had to agree to pay for Mabel to get a new blouse because she wasn't supposed to have dessert in the first place and her mother yelled at me that she'll never be able to get out the blueberry stains."

"We can afford it."

"I'm glad to hear you say that because we're buying all the students Christmas presents so they don't think Santa hates them."

"And this is all my fault because I made you think of pi?"

"Yep."

"Sounds like you need a hug."

"Can you wash up first?"

* * *

The next day, Jack walked into the kitchen and looked around at the disaster before speaking. Flour dust lined the kitchen counter. A small pile of brown sugar had collected on the floor under an open bag which lay on its side on the counter. Elizabeth, a look of defeat on her face and a brown stain of something on her apron, was leaning against the sink drinking a cup of tea.

"What's going on?"

"I was making pie", she said tiredly.

"You were making pie?"

"After all that talk at school, I got a craving for it. I was making shoofly pie."

"Do I even want to know what that is? Because right now I've got images of shoes and flies as the main ingredients"

"It's yummy thick pie. At least it's supposed to be. It's supposed to be so good that I have to shoo away flies that will be attracted to it."

Jack gave her an amused look and the glanced around the room. "I don't see any flies. Did you already shoo them away?"

Instead of quick retort from Elizabeth, Jack was surprised to see her eyes start to tear up.

"Hey. What's wrong?"

Elizabeth lifted up her apron and used a corner to wipe her eyes. "I have a dry bottom."

"Excuse me?" Jack asked as he walked across the room. He looked down first at his shoes which made a sucking sound as they stuck to the floor, and then looked to the counter, where he saw a bottle of molasses.

"My bottom's not wet."

"Isn't that a good thing?" he asked hesitantly.

"No, it's not a good thing. The Thatchers have always been a wet bottom family. We hate dry bottoms." Elizabeth threw up her hands and whined.

"I'm not even going to ask any more," Jack replied before turning and making his way upstairs to change and wash up before hugging her.

* * *

Jack slipped his arms in a fresh shirt and buttoned it as he walked downstairs. A quick rinse with soap and a washcloth and a change into clean clothes had become his new after work routine. He hoped that Elizabeth's heightened sense of smell didn't last the remainder of her pregnancy. Not that he minded being clean but his skin was starting to feel dry from the constant bathing.

He found Elizabeth, parts of her hair messily falling out of a kerchief, on her hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor. Squatting down, he gave her a kiss.

"All better?"

Elizbeth wiped her hair from her eyes. "All better", she said with a determined voice. "The pie is probably awful tasting. The bottom crust is too dry. And I never got around to making dinner."

"What do we have handy?"

"Bread and cheese . . . and a few apples", Elizbeth said as she looked around the room.

Jack gave her a big smile. "That's perfect. I happen to be in the mood for bread, cheese, and apples tonight."

* * *

Jack's stomach grumbled a little as he sat at the table reviewing his notes but he wasn't about to tell Elizabeth that he was still hungry. He had eaten the apples, cheese, and bread as if it was the most delicious and filling meal he had ever had.

"Jack, let me help you", Elizabeth offered from across the room where she was sitting on the couch.

"No", he answered simply as he looked at his list of suspects, which he had narrowed to six men after days of interviews and investigation. He had confiscated the pitchforks of each of the six. Although to be honest, he realized he had no idea how that was going to help him. Other than minor rust on the handles of some of them, they appeared identical. There was nothing to indicate that one of them had been thrust into the torso of the now deceased Mr. Smot.

"Jack!" she exclaimed in an offended voice.

"This is a murder investigation. Not school homework. It's complicated. And not to be rude, Elizabeth, but you can't even make pie", he reminded her with a smile.

"Very funny. Ha ha. Now let me help you."

"Fine," he sighed. "I've got the list of potential suspects down to six. Everyone else has an alibi, wouldn't have any dealings with him, or is too weak to have moved the body to where I found it.

"Did you look at their pitchforks for blood? An innocent pitchfork shouldn't have any blood on it, just hay."

"I'm so glad you're using those Mountie-trained investigative skills of yours to help me exclude innocent pitchforks," he teased before letting her know that all the farm implements appeared clean.

"Whoever stabbed him most likely just wiped the prongs clean with an old rag they could have then burned."

"Tell me the names of your suspects."

Jack called out the names to Elizabeth who looked thoughtful as she held her knitting needles, one with a row of blue yarn loops already cast onto it, in her hands and paused in mid-stitch to listen.

"You can cross Clint off your list. You know he didn't do it."

"How do I know that?"

"Because he's Clint. If he wanted to kill someone, he would just pull out his pistol and shoot them. And if he had used a pitchfork to kill someone, he wouldn't bother trying to hide the body. Clint doesn't hide anything. He takes pride in everything he does."

"You actually have a point," Jack said as he found himself agreeing with her logic.

"Not the French guy either. He's always so polite to me."

"What does he say to you?"

"Actually, I have no idea. All I ever understand is _Bon Jour, Madam_ and then he babbles on much too fast for me. But he always holds open the door for me when I see him at the mercantile or the Café. And his children are adorable. Anyone who raises such adorable children cannot be bad."

Jack rolled his eyes and went back to looking at his list.

"Not Marcus Granson either", Elizabeth volunteered as she pushed her right needle through the blue yarn loop closest to the tip of her left needle, and then grabbed the working yarn and wrapped it around the needle.

Jack sighed and looked up from his work, realizing that Elizabeth was going to keep offering her opinion. "Why not?"

"He's very good looking and totally taken by Missy Cotrell. And she's such a plain looking girl. She reminds me of burlap. Or maybe tent canvas."

"Elizabeth!"

"Well, she does. Sorry, I think blunt honesty is a side effect of my pregnancy."

"What do her looks have to do with anything?"

"Marcus could have any single woman in Hope Valley, and quite possibly some of the married ones. Totally the widows if he wanted them."

"Is there a point to this conversation?"

"I just told you. He's in love with Missy so he can't be your murderer."

"Elizabeth, could you please explain to me why the fact that the handsome Marcus Granson is courting plain Missy Cotrell means he cannot be a murderer before I lose my patience."

"Not just courting. In love. Head over heels."

"Elizabeth!"

"Oh, right. Well, any man that is that good looking and nice has his pick of the women, and yet he's chosen Missy, who really is so sweet, but plain and boring."

"So?"

"He doesn't care that she's boring to everyone but him or that she's plain looking. He wants her for her. So he could never be a murderer. He's got too good a heart."

"I'm not so sure that your theory would be admissible in a court of law, but I actually find myself agreeing with you. For now. So, ignoring all my Mountie training, I am excluding your proud childhood friend, the Frenchman you cannot understand but who is polite and has adorable children, and the handsome very desirable man who is in love with a plain boring woman. That still leaves me with three suspects."

"I don't know anything about Mr. Evans except he's very grouchy. And so is Mr. Thompkins. Who's the last suspect?"

"Buster McKee"

"Oh, it definitely could be him."

"Why do you say that?"

"He spits tobacco and doesn't apologize when he gets it on someone."

"That makes him capable of murder?" Jack asked with an amused look.

"In my book, it does", Elizabeth stated. "It's really hard to get tobacco stains out of clothing and he doesn't even care."

* * *

Jack emerged from the kitchen the next evening with a cotton towel draped around his neck as he finished drying his freshly washed face. He stood in the doorway, bemused, as he looked at Elizabeth, who was surrounded by laundry which he had brought in from the line outside. She sniffed a pillowcase to ensure that it was suitable for their bed before folding it and placing it in the wicker basket.

"It's like being married to a fly. With that sense of smell of yours."

"Oh goodness, you don't think I'm turning into a fly do you?! That's disgusting."

Jack chuckled. "No, I don't. But like you, they have excellent senses of smell. Flies can smell blood up to a mile away."

"They are absolutely repulsive. Always flying around dead stuff", Elizabeth remarked with a shiver as she thought about the black insects. She picked up a sock and looked around for its mate while Jack continued to watch her for another moment.

"That's it! Sung Tz'u!" Jack exclaimed

"Did you just curse at me?"

"I said Sung Tz'u."

"What is Sung Tz'u?"

"Not what. Who. He was a Chinese man who lived in the 13th century."

"Are you drunk, Jack?

"Where's that pie of yours? The shoofly pie with the dry bottom crust."

"It's in the kitchen cupboard. Still uneaten by the way."

"Are you going to eat a piece?" she added in surprise when Jack disappeared back into the kitchen.

"Nope. I'm not stupid", he called out. "But I am going to use it to catch some flies and then a murderer."

* * *

The next afternoon, Jack set down his glass of apple cider and took a bite of his chicken fried steak as Elizabeth sat across the kitchen table from him and anxiously waited for him to swallow and tell her more about the murder case.

A few minutes earlier, Jack had come home for lunch with a big smile on his face and happily informed her that the murderer was locked up in the jail.

"I lined up all six pitchforks –"

"I told you there were only really _three_ good suspects", she interrupted as she reached her eating utensil onto his dessert plate and took a forkful of the lemon meringue pie which Abigail had sent over.

"In the interest of actual law enforcement and not the instincts of my wife, I lined up all _six_ pitchforks in a small closed room with four flies which I caught with your pie", he continued.

"At least it was good for something. Ooh, maybe I could start making pies for law enforcement purposes", she exclaimed with the surprised smile of someone who thinks they've come up with a good idea.

"By the way, this pie is delicious", she added as she took another bite.

"Do you want to hear this?"

Elizabeth tightly closed her lips, indicating a promise of silence if Jack continued with his story.

"None of the pitchforks should have had any blood or flesh on them because, as we both noted, they're normally only used for hay and straw. But all four flies landed on the same pitchfork and stayed there. They totally ignored the other five pitchforks. Flies can smell the minute fragments of blood and flesh that aren't visible to the naked eye. Even if someone thought they had wiped it clean with a rag."

"They were attracted to the pitchfork that was used to murder Mr. Smot!"

Jack nodded. "Right. Sung T'zu solved a case that way in the 13th century. We learned about it in the academy from this old instructor who was a history buff and loved telling stories instead of teaching us how to decipher hunting and trapping regulations. Once I had the flies, it was as easy as pie."

"I don't think pie is that easy", Elizabeth remarked with a shrug, taking slight offense at his analogy.

"But who was it? Who's the murderer?" she added excitedly.

Jack gave her an amused look before answering, and Elizabeth was positive she also saw a mixture of pride and amazement in it.

"You were right. It was Buster McKee. He ended up finally confessing when I confronted him the pitchfork evidence. He and Mr. Smot had had a drunken fight over land boundaries and a missing cow."

"I was right! I love being right!"

"You and that little nose of yours that gave me the idea."

Jack leaned over and gave her nose a light kiss, intending it to be just a quick peck, but something about her and their closeness made him pause. He leaned closer again and lightly touched his lips to hers, which were sweet from the lemon meringue pie.

"You know I can't get enough of you", he murmured as he put a hand behind her neck, holding her close.

"Glad to hear that", she replied softly, barely moving her lips from his. He was warm and delicious, and he made her think of things that were entirely inappropriate for the middle of the day.

She kissed him again and then moved away.

Elizabeth stood up from the table and gave Jack a mischievous smile as she unbuttoned the top of her blouse.

Setting down his fork, he stared at her as she continued undoing the buttons. She leaned back her head and gave a look of experiencing pleasure as she ran her hand along the newly exposed skin of her neck and cleavage making Jack instantly wish that it was his hand that was touching her.

"I was thinking about taking a bath. Would you care to join me?" she asked with a smile before walking out of the room.

Elizabeth laughed when she heard Jack's silverware clatter as he quickly pushed aside the table in his haste to join her.

 _Up next Chapter 41_

 ** _D_ ear Readers: If any of you are going to the WCTH Hearties Reunion, have a wonderful time! **

**And if you're ever in Pennsylvania, get yourself a slice of Amish shoofly pie! The idea for this chapter came from Mary, a Heartie, who can attest to its gooey yumminess.**

 **I can't guarantee the recipe below for making shoofly pie because my baking is a bit like Elizabeth's, but if you're adventurous, give it a try or find one on-line.**

Mix for crumbs: (reserving ½ cup for topping)  
2/3 cup brown sugar  
1 Tablespoon solid shortening or cold unsalted butter  
1 cup flour

Filling:  
1 cup molasses  
¾ cup boiling water  
1 egg beaten  
1 Teaspoon baking soda

Combine baking soda with boiling water, then add egg and molasses. Add lumpy crumb mixture. Pour into an unbaked pie crust and cover with reserved crumbs. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 30-35 minutes (It can be a little jiggly). The bottom crust may be moist or "wet". This makes it even yummier.


	42. Chapter 42 - Blue or Pink

**Chapter 42 - Blue or Pink**

Jack lifted the lid from the large pot and looked curiously at the pale round forms moving around in the simmering liquid. There were six of them floating on the top of the soup.

"Elizabeth," he called over his shoulder. "What's this for dinner?"

"Matzo ball soup", she answered as she walked into the kitchen. "It will be ready in five minutes."

"Um. Not to be rude. But why are we having matzo ball soup?"

"I was looking through the recipe book for soups and the first soup was Leek and Potato soup. But we didn't have any leeks. So then-"

"Let me just interrupt for a minute" Jack said with a smirk. "How could the first soup recipe be for Leek and Potato Soup? What happened to chicken soup and clam chowder, and all the cream soups, and fish soup, and all the letters before 'L' ?"

"I had a slight accident with the cookbook last week."

"Slight accident? With the cookbook?"

"It caught on fire and by the time I –"

"Caught on fire?!"

"Yes. Caught on fire. By the time I put out the fire, the first half of the book was gone."

"Gone?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Gone. Burned up. Ashes. Charred pages. Poof. All gone. . . . But I managed to save from L to Z", she added happily with a pleased expression.

"How did the cookbook catch on fire?"

"Really Jack, that's not important. It just happened."

"It just happened", Jack repeated with raised eyebrows.

"I've explained to you before that the kitchen is my domain. I mean, seriously, I don't ask you about your job."

"You ask me about my job all the time!"

"Well . . .yes . . . but not specifics. I never ask how you manage to fall off your horse or let hardened criminals escape or misfire your weapon."

"I rarely fall off my horse. I don't let hardened criminals escape. And I have never misfired my weapon. Which brings us back to how you managed to burn up half a cookbook."

"You're getting off topic. I thought you were curious about why we were having matzo ball soup, not curious about combustible paper products."

Jack couldn't help but snicker at his wife.

"I'm listening."

"As I was saying, I first thought about leek and potato soup. We've got potatoes but no leeks. And the next recipe was lentil soup, but I accidently dropped the bag of lentils on the cellar floor and it broke open and the lentils went everywhere in the dirt. I thought about sweeping them up and washing them, but quite honestly, it's so dirty down there and well, I just didn't want to."

"So Matzo ball soup came after lentil soup?"

"No, of course not. Lobster soup came after lentil soup."

"Lobster soup?"

"Yes, Lobster soup."

"And obviously you couldn't make lobster soup because we don't have any lobsters."

"Exactly!"

"And then came Matzo ball soup?"

"Yes! When I got to the M's, the first soup was Matzo ball soup. And apparently the key to a good matzo ball soup is to add Nutmeg to the mix! So, I thought a little spice would be nice."

"But where did you get the matzo meal?"

"Mrs. Klein. Two houses over. She's the one that told me about adding the Nutmeg spice. It smells delicious, doesn't it?"

* * *

Four hours later, Jack kicked off his woolen slippers and pulled back his side of the feather-filled covers before climbing into bed next to Elizabeth. She was sitting up with her pillow against the headboard and a large book on her pregnant lap.

"You ready to go to sleep?"

Elizabeth looked up from the book's opened pages and ignored Jack's question. Instead, she asked one of her own.

"Did you know that after a female jackal gives birth, the male jackal takes over the job of feeding their offspring. He takes the food, chews it – regurgitating it – and then feeds it to their babies?"

"That's disgusting. Why are you reading an encyclopedia in bed? And why are you reading about jackals?"

"I'm just trying to always learn new things. And it's not disgusting. It's _wonderful_ that the father would do that for his offspring."

Elizabeth gave Jack a questioning look as she finished speaking, causing him to react.

"What are you looking at me for?"

She continued staring at him expectantly while he pulled the covers up to his chest and then fluffed his pillow.

"Not going to happen ," he said in a matter-of-fact manner as he felt her eyes boring in to him.

"I said it's not going to happen. So you can stop looking at me, Elizabeth."

Jack turned down the wick on the kerosene lamp on his nightstand and laid his head down on his pillow. "I know what you're thinking and I am not going to regurgitate food for our baby. It can't possibly be hygienic. Or necessary."

"You would just let our baby starve?!"

"Why in the world would our baby starve?"

"Babies don't have teeth! They need mush."

"I know I don't have experience but I seem to recall something about them actually starting off with breastmilk", he reminded her.

Elizabeth ignored the mocking sound to his voice as she slammed the encyclopedia shut.

"After that. When they're five months old. They need mushed food!"

"That's what a potato masher is for."

"But what if we're stranded somewhere with no potato masher. Nothing to mash up the food and our baby is hungry."

"Why would we ever be in a situation where we were stranded and needing to mash food with nothing to mash it", he asked with a hint of humor. "Not even a rock?"

"We just might!" Elizabeth felt herself on the verge of hysteria as she thought of the them huddling in the forest while she held a baby with a tear-stained face as it grew weak from hunger.

"We could be in a snowdrift somewhere. In the woods. Lost. Hungry. With our poor baby needing food."

"Why couldn't you just breastfeed him?" Jack asked with a slight shake of his head as he tried not to laugh.

"Because . . because. . . well, because, what if I wasn't able to?!"

"Are you planning on losing your breasts somewhere?"

"Jack! Are you going to regurgitate our food or not?!"

A puzzled Jack looked at her in disbelief. "Is this honestly what you think about at night?!"

"We have to be prepared! We're having a baby!" Her voice was now shrill and distraught.

"Fine. If we are ever in a situation where there are no potato mashers, hammers, rock, bricks, or mortars and pestles available, and your breasts are indisposed, and our baby is hungry and on the verge of starvation, I will regurgitate food for him."

" _Her_."

"Good night, Elizabeth."

* * *

It rained for four hours the next morning, and when the rain finally stopped coming down in sheets of cold water, a thick mist hung over the valley giving it a chilly feeling.

Elizabeth frowned as she left the one-room building, and climbed down the steps at the end of the school day. The students were moving away from her, heading towards their various homes in the cool damp air.

Elizabeth noticed that the girls were pleasantly walking arm in arm or skipping along the path while the boys were running wildly away. Jumping over logs and into puddles which splashed muddy drops of water onto their formerly clean clothes.

Boys.

Pushing each other onto the wet ground. Yelling like untamed horses escaping from a corral towards a life of freedom.

 _Boys! What am I going to do if we have a boy?!_

 _No. We just won't have a boy._

Elizabeth looked down at her belly and gently placed her hand on it as she walked towards the jailhouse. _It's still cooking in there. I'll just make sure it turns out to be a girl._

* * *

The jailhouse was no longer the sparse building it had been more than a year earlier when Jack had first come to Coal Valley as a single Mountie looking forward to an exciting career in law enforcement.

It still contained two jail cells; each with a single cot covered in an olive-drab green blanket. But now a bright colored quilt covered an extra cot in the small room Jack had added on to the back of the building, and which he occasionally used when he needed to stay with prisoners.

"Wanted" posters were still affixed to the bulletin board, and new ones were added whenever the Royal Northwest Mounties were in pursuit of a criminal and Jack received an official poster in the mailbag. But they weren't the only sketches in the jailhouse now.

A sketch of Elizabeth was in the silver frame on the government-issued desk. Several more drawings of her delicate features and longer wavy hair were in Jack's second drawer down mixed in with his drawing pencils.

The flesh and blood real live Elizabeth was now sitting on the edge of Jack's desk. She looked up from the letter in her hand and bent down to swat away Rip, whose wagging tail was hitting her leg.

"No, Rip. Get away."

"Jack, would you get him away? He keeps bothering me and I want to read the mail."

"Come here boy."

Jack bent around the desk and grabbed the dog by the collar, gently pulling him towards him. "Leave mommy alone."

"What's your family write?"

"Mother's asking about names for our baby. She's looking forward to having a granddaughter."

"A granddaughter? What about a grandson?"

"She had three girls so she thinks that I'll have a daughter."

"My mom had two boys. She's pretty positive that we'll have a son. And I know my father would love a grandson. He'll probably start another business just for him. Three generations of Thornton men having a hand in some part of the business."

"Well, I hope they won't be too disappointed because I have a feeling we're having a girl."

Elizabeth, who looked down to lovingly pat her slightly swollen stomach, missed the rueful expression on Jack's face when he heard her words.

* * *

Five minutes later, Jack set down his pencil, gathered the survey papers on his desk and put them inside a manila folder, which he then placed in the top drawer of his desk. He glanced around the desk at the pile of mail.

"Elizabeth, have you seen the newspaper? I thought it was here with the rest of the mail."

"I threw it out. There was nothing important in it."

"I hadn't read it yet."

Jack leaned over to the trash can, picked out the paper, and unfolded it before perusing the front page.

"How could you say there's nothing in the news? Some of the Balkan countries are thinking of going to war with the Ottoman empire. Did you even read this?"

"I didn't want to read that. It's not nice."

"Not nice? Elizabeth, it's the news."

"I only want to read nice things while I pregnant", she said with a shrug as she went back to thumbing through the Sears Roebuck & Co. catalog which had arrived that day.

Jack looked at her in disbelief. "So you're just going to turn a blind eye to anything that's not nice?"

Elizabeth looked away from the advertisement of baby prams and stared curiously at Jack.

"Why not?"

"Why not? Why not? You've got to be kidding me. You can't just ignore things that aren't nice."

"I'm the one that's pregnant here", she reminded him before closing the catalog and moving off his desk. "Are you ready to go home?"

* * *

Two days later, Elizabeth was thinking of what to make for dinner and trying to remember what she had in her cupboards at home when one of her students ran up to her as she walked to the mercantile. The little girl stretched her legs to keep pace with Elizabeth who smiled and continued to walk down the street in the early afternoon.

"Hello, Sally. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I hope you have a baby boy, Mrs. Thornton", the girl blurted out.

"Why's that?"

"Because Mountie Jack says if you have a girl it will kill him."

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks and stared at the six-year old blond girl.

"Sally, you must have heard wrong. I'm sure Mountie Jack didn't say that."

"He did too! I heard him talking to the Pastor and he said that if you have a daughter, it will kill him."

"Don't be silly. Why in the world would he say that?", Elizabeth said dismissively.

"He said 'cuz a daughter would be just like you and he couldn't handle that. I don't want him to die. So please make sure you have a boy, Mrs. Thornton."

As the little girl skipped off to go back to her friends, a stunned Elizabeth stood still in the dirt street, oblivious to people walking past her.

 _He doesn't want a daughter because she'll be like me?!_

* * *

Elizabeth sat on the couch contemplating her brief conversation with Sally.

 _She must have heard wrong._ _Why wouldn't Jack want a daughter like me? I know I have my quirks but I'm smart. Nice. At least I try to be. I'm independent. Except when it comes to chopping wood . . . and killing spiders. . . . but how often would that be a problem. I'm fairly attractive. Even though my hair looks a mess in the morning. Hmm. Maybe I should take more care about that so I don't look so frizzy and tousled. And I'll brush our daughter's hair and put it in ribbons. Why wouldn't Jack want a daughter like me? He loves me! . . . . Doesn't he? . . . Of course he does!_

Elizabeth looked up at the sound of the front door opening.

"Hi sweetie. I bought you some blue yarn", Jack noted as he handed a soft object wrapped in brown paper to Elizabeth.

"Why?" she asked with her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Jack was slightly taken aback by her distrustful voice as she begrudgingly took the package from his hand.

"Because I noticed that you had been making a blue blanket and you stopped. I figured that you ran out of blue yarn."

"Nope. I decided to make a pink one instead."

"You already made two pink ones. This will be your third pink one."

Elizabeth paused with the knitting needles in her hands and looked up at Jack. "Is there a problem with that?"

"No. No problem. I'm just wondering –"

"Wondering what?"

"Um . . .what if we have a boy?"

"After I finish this blanket, I'll make a blue one. But honestly, Jack, I think we're going to have a girl. I can just feel it. It's a mother thing."

"I know . . . And I don't want to question your motherly instincts, but there is a 50 percent chance that we're having a boy."

"It's okay with you if we have a daughter, isn't it?" Elizabeth asked hesitantly as Jack walked into the kitchen.

When he didn't answer, Elizabeth set down her knitting needles and glanced worriedly in his direction.

"Did you say something?" he asked a minute later as he walked into the parlor with a mug of warm coffee cradled in his hands.

"I . . . I just asked how your day was." _I'm not going to ask him. He will love a boy or a girl. And we're having a girl._

* * *

Two days later, Jack and Tim Smyth were standing in a stall at the livery, surrounded by the smell manure and warm horses as several children knelt on the dirt floor admiring a litter of kittens amongst the hay bales.

The middle-aged Pinkerton, who had taken a fatherly interest in Elizabeth when she had first moved to Coal Valley, took a large brush from Jack's outstretched hand and gave him a hoof-pick in exchange.

"Have you thought of names if you two have a girl?"

"Nah. I figured that I would just call her princess. I already know I'm going to be at her beck and call", Jack said with a chuckle. "She'll be adorable just like Elizabeth and no doubt, she'll have me eating out of the palm of her hand the minute she's born."

Tim smiled. "The way you look at that wife of yours, I'm not surprised that her daughter will be running the house."

* * *

The next morning, Elizabeth finished calling the last of the names in her attendance book and instructed the students to open their English books and silently read for five minutes.

"Mrs. Thornton?"

"Yes, Clementine?"

"When you have a baby are you just going to call it baby?"

Elizabeth chuckled. "Of course not. Constable Thornton and I are going to pick the perfect name for our baby."

"Constable Thornton says he's not."

"He's not what?"

"Going to bother naming the baby if it's a girl."

Elizabeth looked curiously at five-year old Clementine and the other students, who were all now looking up at her and ignoring their books.

"Excuse me?"

"I heard Constable Thornton say that he's not going to name it if it's a girl 'cuz it doesn't matter. Not for a girl.

Elizabeth frowned hours later as she got to the front door of the jailhouse. All day she had tried to concentrate on schoolwork but Clementine's words kept coming back to her. _Could Jack really not want a daughter?_

* * *

Elizabeth felt her heart begin to beat faster and she felt jittery with nerves as she turned the doorknob and opened the strong wooden door.

Seeing Jack at his desk, she didn't bother with pleasantries. Instead, she took a deep breath and blurted out what she was thinking. "Do you want a son?"

Jack, busy concentrating on the papers in front of him, barely glanced at her as he replied simply. "Yes."

A startled Elizabeth stared at the top of Jack's head which was bent down as he now dipped his pen in the inkwell and kept writing. _I didn't expect him to agree so quickly!_

"You want a son?"

"Sure", Jack responded as he looked up. "Don't you want a son?"

"Well . . . um . . .of course a son would be nice. . . but I . . . I mean . . .I would want a son _or_ a daughter."

"So would I. But you didn't ask me if I wanted a daughter. You just asked me if I wanted a son."

"So you would want a daughter?"

"Of course", Jack responded as he returned his attention to his work. "Sorry, Elizabeth. I'm kind of busy here. Can we talk later? I'll be home in an hour."

"Oh. Okay." Elizabeth answered. Feeling somewhat confused, she turned and went outside.

 _Did Clementine not hear correctly?_

 _Is Jack lying to me?_

 _Does he really want a son more than a daughter? He is a Mountie after all. And all manly-like. Maybe all men want a son._

 _No, don't be silly. He will love a daughter! Yes. He definitely will love a little girl,_ Elizabeth thought with a smile.

* * *

Elizabeth was almost home when she heard the yells and saw two boys on a bicycle quickly wobbling towards her.

"Move out of the way!"

Heeding the urgent advice of the boy perched on the metal handlebars, Elizabeth jumped out of the way and cringed as she watched the boys end up sprawled on the ground and moaning.

"Don't worry about crying. Boys can cry," she said gently after she had helped the boys up and was now using her handkerchief to wipe the tears from the younger of the boys' cheeks.

"I know", the skinny child replied as he looked at his scraped elbow and sniffled. "Even Mountie Jack can cry and he's a Mountie."

"Mountie Jack? Why do you say that?"

"I overhead him talking yesterday. He told my dad that if he has a daughter, he's going to lock himself in his bedroom and cry until she leaves home."

* * *

Elizabeth's feet moved up the few steps of the row house. With one foot in front of the other, she moved in a daze.

She opened the door without even thinking and closed it shut behind her. Ignoring Rip who wanted to be let out.

 _How bad a wife am I that Jack doesn't want a daughter like me?!_

UP NEXT: Chapter 43 - Sugar and Spice


	43. Chapter 43 - Sugar and Spice

**Chapter 43 - Sugar and Spice**

Jack leaned away from the bowl in front of him and turned his head to the side a bit. As the food went down his throat, he gulped and then picked up the glass in front of him.

He took a sip of water, grateful for the cleansing coolness, and gave Elizabeth a gob-stopped look before speaking.

"It's spicy . . . and . . . sweet. . . . And they _don't_ go together."

"Of course they go together. Just eat it."

"Sorry. I love you but this is the strangest meal you have ever made. What in the world motivated you to put sugar and molasses in chili?"

Jack leaned back in his chair, indicating that his duties as a husband did not go so far as risking indigestion because his wife's culinary skills had taken a strange turn.

Undeterred, a pregnant Elizabeth shifted in her seat and put a spoonful of the mixture of ground beef and beans into her mouth.

"I like it. I just thought I'd try something different. We shouldn't get complacent in our lives."

Jack raised his eyebrows at his wife. "Complacent? We are expecting a baby. I am a Mountie up for promotion. You're a school teacher who's been getting new settler children every week. And our house has a leaking roof. We are most definitely not complacent."

A scowling Elizabeth stood up from the table and took Jack's bowl away from him. "Eat the bread."

"Do we have to eat everything spicy lately? What's wrong with just regular steak and potatoes . . .and plain white bread?"

"What's wrong with spicy?!" she asked indignantly when Jack made a face of having eaten something unpleasant and then set down the slice of cinnamon bread after one bite.

"Nothing's wrong with spicy. I just don't know why we have to eat so many different things lately."

"Jack, what's your favorite girl's name?" Elizabeth asked, trying to act nonchalant as she changed the subject and put a plate with a piece of carrot cake in front of him.

"Elizabeth," he answered immediately. "But what does that have to do with spicy food?"

"Be serious."

"I am. Elizabeth is my favorite name. I love saying it. And I love how you look at me when I say it."

"How do I look when you say it?"

"Like you're about to swoon," he said honestly with a grin.

 _I usually am_ , she realized. _How does he always make me feel that way when he says it?!_

Elizabeth shook her head slightly to clear her thoughts of Jack.

"Stop being silly. If we have a daughter, we need to have a name."

"Why don't we just wait until we see what we have? Why bother picking a name for a girl when we may have a boy."

"Because it may be a girl."

"Or it may be a boy."

"I can't believe how cavalier you're being. We need a name."

"Elizabeth, people have babies all the time. We have months until we need a name. When we see our baby, a name will come to us."

Jack, unconcerned over the lack of a definite name for their unborn child, took a sip of water and then started eating the carrot cake which Elizabeth had picked up from Abigail earlier in the day.

"I heard that you talked to some of the men in town about us having a baby. Maybe having a daughter?" Elizabeth asked evasively. _I'm not about to repeat the absurdity of what the children told me._

Jack smiled. "I did. I told Tim Smythe how I felt about maybe having a daughter and he sympathized with me."

When Elizabeth stood there with a flabbergasted look on her face, Jack shrugged.

"When it gets here, I'm sure a name will come to us."

 _He doesn't think it's worth the bother to name a daughter?!_

"It? When _it_ gets here?"

"When he or she gets here. You know what I meant."

Elizabeth clenched and unclenched her fists nervously _._

 _Jack couldn't possibly have told the other men in town that having a daughter would kill him and cause him to cry in his room! It's absurd. I'll just ask him and he'll deny it. No problem._

"Jack", she said confidently. "You weren't serious when you were talking to Tim and the other men? About how you would feel about this baby if it's a girl."

"Yes, I was. I guess I shouldn't care if we have a boy or a girl, but I just think I'll feel differently if it's a girl. Listen, I've got to get to the mercantile and send some telegrams. I'm not that hungry anyway."

Jack gave her a quick peck on the cheek before walking out of the kitchen, leaving Elizabeth to slump into the wooden chair with the spindled back and sigh.

"Love you", he called out as he put on his hat and went out the front door.

 _How could the man I love not want our child if it's a girl?!_

* * *

The sun hadn't set yet as Jack strode towards the mercantile in the cool evening air.

He waved a greeting as a middle-aged man and his two daughters, each carrying a fishing rod and a small metal bucket, walked in his direction.

Jack rightly guessed that the buckets that were proudly swinging from the girls' hands held recently-caught fish. The family of three interrupted their lively conversation to say hello to Jack and then, eager to fry up their dinner, continued walking to their home at the edge of town.

As he watched them happily walk away, Jack was reminded of a saying he had heard from some of the townspeople earlier that week.

 _A son is a son for life; a daughter is a daughter until she becomes someone's wife._

He had no idea how fathers do it. How do they love and raise a daughter only to have them leave one day? When Jack had told some of the men in town that he'd probably lock himself in his bedroom and cry the day his daughter left home, he hadn't been exaggerating.

 _It hasn't even been born yet, and I already love it. I'm such a sap._

* * *

The next evening, Elizabeth, unable to forget what her students had told her, decided to give Jack one more opportunity to explain his position on the gender of their baby.

 _He's just scared about having a daughter. He never had a sister so he's not used to girls. I just have to get him used to the idea of having a daughter._

Elizabeth smiled as she eagerly brought cloth samples over to Jack while he took off his jacket and hung it on the hook by the door.

"Jack, I wanted your opinion on some fabric. I got two samples from the mercantile. I thought I'd make some clothes for the baby. Do you like the daisy print or the lavender one?"

"Either one is fine. Unless we have a boy. By the way, I got a letter from my mom. She wrote that she's mailing us a package of outfits for the baby. Little sailor suits and blue socks. Stuff like that. She's even found an outfit in the same shade of red as my uniform. She's getting very excited."

Elizabeth ignored the references to a son and refused to give up on getting Jack interested in a daughter.

"Yes, I'm sure she is. So am I! If I get started now, I'll have plenty of time to make several adorable outfits. Little dresses with matching hair bows. I really like this daisy pattern. It's so fresh looking. Don't you think so?"

"If you say so. I'm starving. Is dinner ready? I've got to go back to the jail and work on some stuff after I eat."

Jack started across the room but then stopped and gave her a lingering kiss before she could answer.

"Mmm, you're delicious", he said before he took her hand and walked with her into the kitchen, where Elizabeth had strategically placed several paper dolls with cut-outs of paper clothing onto the table.

"Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. I just have to set the table. Look at these beautiful paper dolls I found at the mercantile. They didn't have a huge selection of clothing, but I figured that you can make tons of outfits!"

"Me?"

"You're so good at drawing. I know that it will be years until a daughter can play with them but they were so sweet looking I couldn't help buying them. Just think about it; I can sew real outfits for our baby and you can draw matching paper doll outfits for her to play with! Won't that be fantastic? Think of the bonding!"

"Bonding? I didn't think you used paste with paper dolls", Jack remarked as he opened the ice box and took out the pitcher of cider.

"Not that kind of bonding."

Jack gave her a strange look. "You want me to arrest our baby and set a bond on him or her to get out of jail?"

"Not that kind of bonding!"

"Elizabeth, I have no idea what you want me to do with paper dolls and some kind of bonding. And please tell me that you don't mean bondage. But right now, I just want to grab a quick bite to eat and get back to the jail."

"Fine", an exasperated Elizabeth said as she scooped the paper dolls off the table and set them aside with the fabric samples.

* * *

"This is the third time this week that we're having sweet potatoes," Jack remarked as he stood next to her and stared at the tray of starchy orange-colored food which Elizabeth pulled out of the oven.

Elizabeth carefully set the hot tray on the counter. Ignoring Jack's comment about her choice of dinner courses, she took off the thick oven mitts, turned to face Jack, and leaned her own back against the counter.

"Jack, I know how much you want this child and that we love each other. But I can't stop thinking about what you told the men in town."

"Are we bringing that up again?"

"I just want to understand. Do you regret what you said?"

"Regret it? Why should I regret it? I'm not embarrassed by my feelings. Look, Elizabeth, this is the first time for me being a father. For goodness sakes, you can't analyze every single comment I make."

"I'm not analyzing! I just want to understand what you're thinking."

"Right now I'm thinking that I'd like to have a meal that's not either spicy or overly sugary sweet. I'm going to change shirts before we eat."

As Jack headed upstairs, Elizabeth put a hand to her chest and nervously twisted the fabric of her blouse.

 _I'm going to be a single mother,_ she thought glumly _. I'll have to leave him when the baby comes._

 _If it's a boy, I'll never forgive him for not wanting a girl._

 _And if it's a girl, he won't love her._

 _I'll have to leave him! I'll be a poor single mother holding down a job in a small town, and he'll still be the incredibly handsome Mountie working down the street from me!_

 _The baby and I will have to live off of my teacher's salary. Above the Cafe. Or in a run-down shack._

 _I can do it._

 _I can raise the baby on my own._

 _I'll barely be able to afford groceries. . . .Our baby will go hungry and Jack won't even be around to regurgitate food!_

* * *

By the time Jack came down the steps five minutes later, Elizabeth had calmed down enough to rethink her previous idea.

 _Jack loves me. He'll never leave me and I will never leave him. It's like what he said at our wedding reception. He's never going to stop loving me and I'm never going to stop loving him._

 _He just needs to get used to the idea of having a baby. Being a father must not come as natural to men as being a mother comes to women._

"Jack, let's forget about the dinner I made", she offered with smile plastered to her face. "How about dinner at the Café?"

* * *

The Café was loud and busy with customers sitting at every table and enjoying generous portions of Abigail's chicken pot pie, fish soup, and apple cobbler.

From across the room, Bill Avery caught Jack's attention and motioned for the young married couple to join him at his table.

Despite the number of patrons, Abigail moved efficiently in the kitchen and fifteen minutes after sitting down, a relaxed and content Elizabeth was enjoying the delicious taste of the other woman's cooking.

"Did you read the paper today?" Bill asked when Jack mentioned an upcoming trip related to Mountie business. "They're starting construction on the Quebec bridge again."

"I read about that. It's quite the undertaking."

"It will be great when it's completed in a few years. I had to go from the south shore of the St. Lawrence to the north shore at Quebec City once and it's a hassle in the winter with the rough weather and the ferries."

"I remember the bridge collapse in 1907. Awful. It killed close to eighty workers, didn't it?"

"Seventy-five men died. I remember the investigation into the reasons for the collapse. What a tragedy. Those men up there. Leaving their homes to work on the bridge. Risking their life every day to build it on time and then . . ."

Jack gave Elizabeth a concerned look as she suddenly stood up, so she quickly explained that she was just going to the kitchen for more hot water for her tea.

"You sure everything's okay?"

"I'm fine. I just need more water. I'll be back in a jiffy."

She was not going to listen to any unpleasant news. Not when she was pregnant. Not even if the unpleasantness had occurred years earlier. She simply didn't want to hear about it.

* * *

Two days later, the mail wagon pulled into Coal Valley containing the large package sent from the Thornton mansion in Hamilton.

Jack arrived at the bottom of the school house staircase five minutes before two o'clock, and waited patiently for his favorite school teacher. He had a feeling that she would probably find the contents of the package more interesting than he would.

As Elizabeth rang the bell signifying the end of the school day, he moved off to the sides of the wooden steps, anticipating the rush of boys and girls hurrying out of the building.

"Slow down!", he cautioned as some of the boys practically ran over a ten-year old girl who had stopped at the top of the stairs to finish buttoning her coat. "Boys, behave like gentlemen!"

"Are you alright, sweetie?"

"I'm fine, Mountie Jack", the girl replied before she too took off running down the steps.

Hearing Jack's voice, Elizabeth's face broke out in a grin and she quickly grabbed her coat and headed towards the door.

"What's the special occasion that you are walking me home?"

"My parents' package arrived. I thought you'd be excited to open it. And I was missing my beautiful wife. My hands were feeling a little cold and lonely."

Elizabeth continued to smile as Jack took one of her hands in his.

"You could always wear a pair of gloves, " she said teasingly.

"But then my heart wouldn't get warm at the same time like it does now."

* * *

As she unpacked outfit after outfit and held them up for inspection, Elizabeth couldn't help but smile at the cute clothing. The little booties. The cloth diapers. The tiny sleeping garments.

"Can you write her a thank you note?" Jack asked over his shoulder as he took the pile of items and placed them on the dresser in the second upstairs room. It was more of a large closet than a bedroom but Elizabeth was hoping to have decorated as a nursery before the baby arrived.

Elizabeth hesitated. "Don't you think you should do it?"

"Why me?"

"She is _your_ mother."

"Geez, Elizabeth, I know you and my mom haven't always gotten along, but can't you put that aside and write her thank you?" Jack asked with a frown.

Elizabeth didn't reply as she watched Jack take the empty box out of the room and walk downstairs with it.

Instead, she moved away from Rip who was pawing her leg in an attempt to get her to pet him.

* * *

"I was over at your place yesterday and saw the outfits your mother sent. Just adorable. And I'm sure that they were very expensive. I have a feeling that your parents are going to spoil this little one", Abigail remarked pleasantly as she refilled Jack's coffee mug the next day at the lunch hour.

"Probably", Jack said as the corners of his mouth turned up in a smile. "My mother's very excited. . . It's just . . ."

"Just what?" Abigail asked curiously when Jack's voice trailed off.

Jack paused as he thought about what to say, finally divulging his concerns about his wife's seeming lack of appreciation.

"Elizabeth didn't even want to write my mom a thank you letter. After my parents sent all those outfits and went to all that trouble, Elizabeth didn't want to send a simple thank you."

"Why didn't you do it?"

Jack took a sip of the hot coffee and then answered simply with a shrug.

"I'm busy with work, and writing is the stuff that Elizabeth is good at. I just assumed she'd be okay writing it. But she wasn't."

Abigail scrutinized Jack for a moment and then pulled out a chair and sat down across from him.

Setting down the coffee pot on the tablecloth, she looked sympathetically at him at him as if she was dealing with a small child.

"Jack, how much is Elizabeth doing for this baby so far?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is she eating healthy?"

"Yes."

"Trying to get lots of sleep?"

"Yes."

"Reading everything, she can on being a good mother?"

"Yes. But she still has time to write a simple thank you."

"You're missing my point. Is she avoiding anything dangerous so she doesn't risk losing the baby? Putting everything into keeping this child safe?"

"Yes. So, what's your point? She's going to be a good mother. I know that already. She's going to be a great mom. She's wonderful with children."

"My point is that she's doing all she can for this baby and it isn't even born yet. She's already thinking like a mother. She's changed from being a single woman to the woman you courted, to your wife, to a mother. She now thinks first and foremost like a mother. How a mother feels."

"I'm _still_ missing your point."

"For goodness sakes Jack, do I have to spell it out for you?! Write your mother a darn letter! _You_ write the letter! Elizabeth feels for your mom! She's probably wondering how it would be to spend years raising a son and he can't even find five minutes to write a simple thank you to the woman who gave birth to him! Pick up a pen and paper and write the poor woman a thank you!"

"But –"

"No buts! Do you have any idea what it's like to be a mother? Write yours a thank you for the package! And maybe include some other stuff in there too. About your work. And your home. What your typical day is like. How you're safe and happy! "

"Boys!" Abigail muttered as she picked up her coffee pot, stood up from the table, and walked away.

* * *

When Abigail set down a bowl in front of Jack, he placed his napkin on his lap and looked hungrily at the stew.

"I'll write my mom. I promise. And this looks delicious. Elizabeth's been acting a bit odd lately, especially when it comes to food, but I'm afraid to ask her why."

"What's she doing now?"

"Her taste buds are off. She's been making some strange meals, and last night for dinner she made spicy fried chicken with sweet potatoes."

"That sounds good. What's the problem?"

"That's the fourth night this week that she made sweet potatoes. And the other nights, she made sugar snap peas.

"So, she has a craving for sweet potatoes and sugar snap peas. Pregnant women have cravings. That's totally normal."

"It's not just that. She refuses to read the newspaper."

"Refuses to read the newspaper?"

"And refuses to listen to any work talk that involves anything that's not ' _nice_ '. I'm a Mountie for goodness sakes. I don't have a job where everything is ' _nice_.'"

Abigail gave a chuckle. "Has she been avoiding Rip?"

Jack's eyes grew wide. "How in the world did you know that?!"

Abigail continued to smile. "She's avoiding puppy dog tails so she has a baby girl."

"What in the world are you talking about?"

* * *

As the evening sun began to set, Jack, happy to be home at the end of a long day, set down his leather bag by the front door and gave Elizabeth, who was sitting on couch, a kiss hello on the cheek.

"Elizabeth, would you mind cleaning out my saddle bag for me while I wash up?" he asked as he walked into the nearby kitchen.

"Sure."

"Thanks. It's kind of a mess."

"I don't mind."

"I've got some snips of paper and small things in there."

Jack leaned his head around the corner and peeked at Elizabeth as she paused at his words. She held the saddle bag in her hands but stopped herself from opening it.

"Snips?" she asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Oh, also, I took a break on a river bank so I think some snails may have crawled into it. You don't mind, do you? If there's a snail or two in there?"

"Snails?"

A grinning Jack leaned against the door-frame and gave her a knowing look.

"It's not going to work?"

"What's not going to work?" a puzzled Elizabeth asked as she dropped the saddle bag and wiped her hands on her skirt.

"Avoiding snips and snails and puppy dog tails while you're pregnant."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"And your sudden interest in sugar, spice, and everything nice? That's just what? An interesting new coincidence?"

When Elizabeth remained silent and scowled at him, Jack began reciting "Sugar and spice and everything nice; that's what little girls are made of. Snips and snails and puppy dog tails; that's what little boys are made of."

"Fine!" she said hotly. "I want a girl!"

"Elizabeth, you cannot make us a boy or girl by doing some silly old wives' tale things."

"How do you know?" she countered.

"Because I have a brain. And so do you."

* * *

"I think we need to have a talk. There's a very good chance that we're going to have a boy. Are you going to be okay with that? Can you love our son if we have one?"

Elizabeth looked startled at Jack's question. "Of course I can love our son! What kind of question is that?!'

"It's just that I know you really want a daughter."

"What about you?! You want a son! That's obvious. Can you love a daughter?!" she countered accusatorily.

Now it was Jack's turn to look startled.

"Of course I can love a daughter! Why would you even ask that? What do you mean it's obvious that I want a son?"

"I mean it's obvious you want a boy! You can't stand the idea of having a daughter."

"That's not true!"

"Did you or did you not tell people that it would kill you to have a daughter like me?" she asked hotly.

"I did. But not the way you're making it sound."

"So I'm supposed to believe it was a compliment?!"

"Yes! It was! And what about you? You're refusing to acknowledge the possibility that we may have a boy. Why don't you want a son?"

"Because he'll be just like you!" she yelled as tears started to fall down her cheeks.

"He'll be smart and adorable and I'll love him. And then . . . and then . .. he'll go off and be a Mountie", she sobbed as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began wiping her now runny nose.

"Boys are always running away for adventure. And I'll never stop worrying about him. He'll leave me just like you left your mother. And he'll marry someone and settle down far away. And what if she can't cook for him. He's my baby son and he's going to leave me one day! What if he joins the army and has to fight in a war? Or gets hurt on a bicycle? Or falls off a collapsing bridge!" she wailed.

The corners of Jack's mouth turned up into a small smile and he moved across the room to her, wrapping his arms around her quivering body.

"Hush, your son is not going to leave you", he said gently.

"Yes, he is. One day."

"You're not worried about a daughter leaving home?"

"Oh, for goodness sakes, a daughter can take care of herself", she answered dismissively and with a wave of her hand. "Besides, a son is a son until he takes a wife. A daughter is a daughter for her whole life."

Jack pulled back and looked at Elizabeth. "Wait, that's not right. It's a son is a son for life; a daughter is a daughter until she becomes someone's wife."

"No. It's a son is a son until he takes a wife; a daughter is a daughter for her whole life."

"Are you sure?"

Elizabeth hiccupped and then crinkled her brow. "No", she admitted. "I never was any good at wives' tales that rhymed."

"Neither was I."

"I'm being stupid. Aren't I?" she asked between gulps of air.

Jack chuckled softly.

"Do you know why I don't want a daughter? Because she'll be just like you. I figure she'll have me wrapped around her little finger the minute she's born. And then she'll grown up and move away. She'll say "Pa, I'm off to prove myself", and she'll fall in love in some backwards town. And what will I do then? I'll have spent years protecting her and being proud of her and teaching her how to handle a weapon and ride a horse, and then she'll just go off and live her life and marry some man that's nowhere near good enough for her. Not all men are gentlemen, you know. I told the pastor that I have no idea how your mother did it. How she let you go. I'm never going to be able to let our daughter go."

"But you can let our son go?"

"It's different. I expect a man to go off and start a career. I did it. And I didn't totally disappear from my mom's life. But if we have a girl, she'll be this sweet innocent little thing. She's going to break my heart one day. When she leaves to start her own life. And I know that she's going to be too good for all the men that try to court her."

"We're pretty pathetic, aren't we?"

"Maybe we should just have a dozen babies. That way we won't miss one or two when they leave home."

"I don't think it works that way", Elizabeth laughed between her tears as Jack led her to the couch and eased them down onto the soft cushion. He kept his arm around her as she blew her nose into her handkerchief.

"I would love a daughter", Jack whispered in her ear. "She'll look like you and be strong-willed and gentle at the same time. I'll carry her around on my shoulders when she's little. I'll just have to teach her everything I know before we let her leave home. . . And maybe we can pack up and move with her."

"I would love a son", Elizabeth said softly. "I imagine him all the time. He'll have brown hair with a cowlick like yours. And your color eyes. And when I hold him on my hip, he'll grab my hair and twirl it."

"I do love playing with your hair", Jack admitted.

"How about we make a deal? Whatever we have, we won't worry about it getting married or moving away from home. At least not until he or she can walk."

"Deal."

"Good. Because I didn't want to live in a shack without you and have to regurgitate the baby's food myself."

 **Up next: Chapter 44**

 **P.S. If you have a name you think would be perfect for J and E's baby, send me a message with your suggestion!**


	44. Chapter 44 - Cold

**Chapter 44 - Cold**

The night seemed endless.

Anyone who was brave enough to venture outside would never know that there was a full moon high in the sky. It was obscured by thick clouds that had moved in from the West.

The wind blew branches against the bedroom window pane but the two intertwined bodies under the sheets didn't notice.

The tapping of the branches mixed with their own sounds. The soft murmurs. The heavy breathing.

The gasp when the woman caught her breath.

Jack's hand moved along the Elizabeth's bare skin.

It was obvious he loved her.

His mouth kissed her body with a mixture of ownership and worship. Somehow both demanding and giving at the same time.

She returned his desire. Touch for touch.

Tongue for tongue.

He was hers. And she was his.

In this morning when they arose after lying for hours in each other's arms, they would spend the day with students and criminal investigations. With textbooks and horses. With household chores of laundry and chopping wood.

But for tonight, it was just the two of them.

Melding their naked bodies into one as it started to rain harder outside.

* * *

 _Drip._

 _Drip._

 _Drip_

"Jack, the roof is leaking again."

Elizabeth, carrying a bucket in her hand, bent her head back and looked at the ceiling. She moved her feet as she continued to look up. When the bucket was directly under the crack in the wood, she caught a falling drop of water.

It made a plink sound as it hit the metal container.

She squatted down, and with one hand picked up the ceramic soup bowl on the floor which already contained an inch of water. She replaced it with the bucket, making sure it was directly lined up with the dripping rainwater.

"Sorry, Elizabeth. I didn't get a chance yesterday. It's too slippery now. It will have to wait until the weather lets up," Jack noted as he walked into the kitchen.

He grabbed a piece of slightly charred bread from the toaster on the stove and popped it into his mouth. Taking the other slice from the toasting apparatus, he stove, he lightly tossed the warm bread in his hand as he stepped around the bucket.

"It must be coming along the edge of the roof-line and then seeping through the wall and between the floors. I can see if I can get someone in town to do it before I have a chance to get to it."

Jack placed the unbitten piece of toast onto the plate across from him before sitting down and picking up the silver egg topper which was next to his plate.

After deftly cutting off the top of his egg shell, he placed it off to the side of his plate, and used a teaspoon to scoop out the warm soft yellow yolk.

"Aren't you going to sit and eat breakfast?"

"I'm packing a lunch for you. Are you going to be okay for dinner if the Wilkersons come home today?"

"Sure. I'll eat at the Saloon or Abigail's. Are you sure you don't want to take a horse to their place after school. It's a long walk."

"I don't feel comfortable riding while I'm pregnant. I'd worry too much with the bouncing and maybe falling."

"What about a wagon? I can stop by the livery and get you one."

"Too bumpy. I'm fine, really. I like walking."

"Just take your time and don't tire yourself out, okay?"

Elizabeth sat down and put a napkin on her lap before reaching across the table and taking the egg topper. "I'll be fine. I promise. I'll be back tomorrow morning."

* * *

Several hours later, the few fluffs of white blew through the air like feathery down in front of a fan.

But unlike the layer of fine feathers found closest to a bird's body, these white fluffs didn't act like a thermal insulator.

Instead, they were cold and wet.

Elizabeth shivered and shoved her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat. She maneuvered her fingers out of the gloves' separate openings for each finger and thumb and clenched them into fists in an attempt to further warm them.

 _I should have worn mittens instead of gloves._

The late afternoon sky was darkening and she hurried her footsteps along the dirt path that led from the Wilkerson ranch to the buildings which made up the town of Hope Valley.

She wishfully looked at the horizon, hoping to see Jack riding towards her but there was just emptiness in front of her.

Emptiness and snowflakes.

Elizabeth really hadn't expected Jack to come for her. He was most likely sitting at a table in front of a steaming bowl of stew at Abigail's Café and planning an evening of darts or poker with some of the townsmen.

He would be oblivious to the fact that his pregnant wife was cold and alone as she walked the few miles back to town.

* * *

Elizabeth was moving slower than she had anticipated.

If it had been a warm spring day and she wasn't pregnant, she easily would have walked the two and half miles between the school and the Wilkerson ranch in fifty minutes.

But now, bundled up in winter clothing and carrying the extra weight and fatigue of pregnancy, she was slower than she had expected.

The snow which was starting to form a thin lace-like cover on the ground slowed her even more as she worried about slipping.

Not quite three hours earlier, she had rung the school bell, letting the students run home in freedom at the end of lessons. She had then spent time grading papers and writing the next day's arithmetic lessons on the blackboard before deciding to walk to the large family's ranch.

As she had put on her coat and gloves and left the one-room schoolhouse, she hadn't worried about the long walk; she enjoyed walking in the fresh air, and actually preferred it over other modes of traveling.

Elizabeth had anticipated the two and half mile walk to the ranch.

What she hadn't expected was that she would be turned away at the Wilkerson's front door and have to immediately walk the two and a half miles back home in the late afternoon's setting sun.

* * *

Whooping Cough.

That's what Pam Wilkerson had decided when her youngest child couldn't stop the severe hacking cough followed by a high-pitched intake of breath. A quick check of the other children revealed they all were beginning to feel fatigued and congested.

"They can't stop coughing. And the littlest has a fever."

"I'm so sorry", Elizabeth responded as she stood on the front porch.

"Two are already in bed. I'm getting ready to put the other two down now. I was hoping they hadn't caught it, but I'm guessing they did. I'm sorry I didn't get to town to tell you. I plumb forgot. And my husband's busy with the cattle."

The married mother of four had refused to allow Elizabeth into her home.

Elizabeth had just as eagerly not protested being barred from the premises and the unwelcome highly contagious virus.

If the older woman hadn't been so frazzled with having arrived back in town that very day, unpacking suitcases, and tending to her children, she would have thought to inquire if Elizabeth had come by horse or wagon.

Instead, Pam had graciously thanked Elizabeth for coming, and politely, but quickly, closed the door.

As the mother gave her children small doses of belladonna and large doses of honey, insisted that they each drink a large glass of water in between coughs, and then tucked them into their beds, she didn't give another thought to the pretty pregnant school teacher.

Elizabeth, now somewhat tired from her trek to the ranch, stepped down from the front porch, looked off in the horizon towards town, and started walking.

Walking back in the direction from which she had just come.

* * *

As he dipped his spoon into the steaming stew and inhaled the smell, Jack laughed at the comments made by the other men at his table as they discussed their feeble attempts at wooing women.

He was glad that his days of wondering how women think were behind him. Although, if he thought hard about it, he would have to admit that Elizabeth still managed to perplex him and intrigue him on a weekly, if not daily, basis. The difference was that he never had to wonder if she loved him.

"How's the stew, gentlemen?"

"It's great, Clara. Thank you. I hope the Wilkersons are feeding Elizabeth this well tonight," Jack replied as Abigail's daughter-in-law stopped by their Café table with a basket of warm rolls.

"I didn't know they were back in town."

"They arrived on the stage this morning. Elizabeth went over there after school to get them caught up on their schoolwork before school on Monday. With four children to catch up on missed lessons, and the short day-light hours, Pam Wilkerson invited her to spend the night."

"So, you're a bachelor for a while. I assume we'll be seeing you back here for a hearty breakfast?" Clara asked with a smirk.

"He may not be able to afford it after tonight's poker game."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

Jack put on his hat after he and the other men finished their meal at Abigail's and started to make their way to the Saloon.

Walking past the thermometer affixed to the Café's large front windowpane, he noticed that the ball of mercury had dropped at least twenty degrees in the last few hours. Not only had the sun set but an unexpected cold front was moving into the valley bringing strong winds and freezing temperatures.

 _It's a good thing, Elizabeth decided to spend the night at the Wilkerson's rather than come home in this weather,_ he thought as he flipped up the collar of his jacket to keep his neck protected from the biting wind.

"Hold up, guys", he called out as his thoughts of Elizabeth were replaced by the idea of a relaxing evening with the guys at the Saloon.

* * *

Elizabeth was halfway home when stopped in her tracks at the sight of the large cat. It was no more than 50 feet away.

From the size of it – well over 150 pounds – Elizabeth guessed it was an adult male. Its round head and erect ears were visible in the dimming light.

If she'd hadn't looked up from her boots by chance, she wouldn't have noticed it until she was too close.

The feline stopped eating its recent kill when it noticed Elizabeth at the same time she noticed it.

The two stared at each other for a moment before the cat turned its attention back to the bloody carcass at its paws. If it had been worried that the human intruder was going to steal its meal, the cat would have thought about going after Elizabeth.

But it had a meal in front of it, and the human didn't seem aggressive, so the mountain lion returned to its dinner. Sinking its teeth into the flesh of the unfortunate small deer.

Elizabeth, keeping her eyes on the cat, slowly backed up a few paces.

Something she had recently read in her encyclopedia came back to her. _The cougar, or North American Mountain Lion has five retractable claws on its forepaws and four on its hind paws. The larger front feet and claws are for clutching prey._

"Well, I'll just avoid those kitty-cat claws", she mumbled.

Despite the fact that the animal was intent on eating its freshly killed meal, Elizabeth didn't want to risk getting any closer. And it looked like the mountain lion wasn't in any hurry to leave the area.

She looked around at her possible ways to avoid the animal and still make her way home.

 _It's directly in my way! Now, I'll have to backtrack and go through the grove of trees or around the thicket of bushes,_ she grumbled. _That will add at least fifteen or twenty minutes to my trip._

 _I should have known I might run into one at dusk,_ she chided herself.

 _I should have brought my pistol with me. One shot would have scared it away. . . . Or maybe not . . . if it were hungry enough. . . . And I do hate guns._

Elizabeth sighed and turned around. There was nothing to do about it now but change her course.

Shivering against the cold, she looked over her shoulder every few seconds as she moved away.

* * *

The fluffy snow had turned to icy sleet and Elizabeth still had at least a mile to town.

Her breathing left white puffs in the cold air and her feet slipped on the ground when she tried to hurry her pace in the darkness.

She imagined that if she looked in a mirror, she would see that her lips had turned a strange shade of blue and her hair would be plastered to the edge of her face.

Pushing aside those thoughts, she tried to fill her brain with warm comforting images. Images that would heat her up and make her forget her chattering teeth.

 _Steaming soup_

 _Sunshine on a summer's day._

 _A blazing fireplace_

 _Jack_

 _Shirtless Jack_

 _Naked Jack_

 _Naked Jack touching me._

 _. . . ._

 _Sorry, Jack, but no matter how sexy you are, I am still freezing._

Elizabeth tucked her head into the front of her coat, trying to protect her face from the sleet which was pelting her face. No matter which way she moved, the wind found her pale unprotected cheeks and targeted them with the pellets of ice.

 _I just want to be warm and dry_ , she moaned.

By the time Elizabeth could see the lights flickering in windows from the town in the distance, her knit hat was soaked through and heavy on her head. The bottom of her skirt, left exposed by the three-quarters length coat, was sopping wet.

She gave up trying to stay warm and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

 _Home._

 _I just need to get home._

 _Before I get hypothermia._

 **Up next: Chapter 45.**


	45. Chapter 45 - Real Love

**Chapter 45— Real Love**

Elizabeth, her body bent over, struggled to walk in the sleet and wind, which was getting stronger.

 _If this was a romance novel, I would see a figure coming through the snow right about now._

 _He would be riding high on his horse. Handsome and strong._

 _Braving the harsh weather to find me as I grew weaker._

 _Steam would rise in perfect clouds from his sultry body as he got nearer to me._

 _He wouldn't even have to get off his galloping horse._

 _He'd just reach down with one muscular arm and swoop me up onto the saddle as if I weighed no more than a feather._

 _We would move with the stallion's motion. Up and down. In a rhythm. Making my heaving body crave my hero's manhood as his powerful arms held me._

 _He'd say something sexy and romantic in a deep gravelly voice._

" _Darling, you frightened me. I sensed you were in danger."_

" _But how? How did you know I needed you?"_

" _Our hearts beat as one, my love."_

" _You came for me."_

" _I will always come for you, my sweetheart. Press your body to my chest for warmth. When we return to my manor, I will warm your soft breasts with my mouth."_

Elizabeth's right foot slipped on the wet grass, and she stumbled forward.

Managing to keep herself from falling to the ground, she hesitated a moment before continuing to walk.

 _Yep, that's how a romance novel would be,_ she grumbled _._

 _Do I get that? No! I get a slippery patch of grass. Where's my strapping hero? Where's my Jack?! Stupid romance novels._

* * *

Elizabeth's heart sank when she approached the row house and saw that it was dark. If Jack had been home, there would be a warm glow visible through the window.

She realized that the house wouldn't just be dark, it would be cold.

 _Darn! He's probably at Abigail's. Or at the Saloon playing cards. He'd better at least win some money. Because I certainly don't get paid enough to walk through this weather for my students!_

Elizabeth pulled her hands out of pockets just long enough to turn the doorknob to the row house. Her hands trembled with cold and she was grateful that the door wasn't locked. She wasn't sure she would have been able to retrieve the key from her pocket and insert it in the keyhole without dropping it.

She stumbled inside on her frozen toes and reached for the lantern on the wall hook. It took her three tries before she could get the flame going. Finally, a dim glow illuminated part of the room.

She wanted to take off her wet coat but her fingers, numbed by the coldness, merely fumbled with the top button so she quickly gave up. Instead she clumsily grabbed a pot from the counter and dropped it into the sink.

The pain in her hands caused her eyes to tear up as she grabbed hold of the water pump's long cast iron handle and began moving it up and down. She impatiently watched the cool water flow into the pot.

* * *

"Thank God", Jack exclaimed when he rushed in the front door and saw the light coming from the kitchen.

He hurried through the parlor and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a pale and wet Elizabeth standing in front of the sink with her hands immersed in a pot of water.

She looked up at him and gave him a weak smile.

"Let me see", he instructed as he crossed the room. He reached into the cool water and picked up her hands.

"Good. You didn't use hot water. Do they hurt much?"

"They sting but I think they'll be okay. I couldn't get my buttons open. And my feet are frozen."

"Let's wrap these up."

Jack grabbed a dishtowel and covered Elizabeth's hands before holding them between his own. Using his own body heat to help warm them.

He waited ten seconds before releasing her hands and then began unbuttoning her coat. He carefully pulled it off, causing her to have to unclasp her hands so he could get off the heavy sleet-drenched sleeves.

"Your skirt is soaking wet."

Elizabeth didn't reply but stood there shivering as he unbuttoned her skirt and pushed it down her legs.

"Step out of it", he instructed as he knelt on the floor and helped her lift her trembling legs. He threw the garment off to the side, where it landed in a wet crumpled heap.

Elizabeth knew she shouldn't care but she frowned slightly at his action. _Now I'll have to iron that in the morning. Ugh, I hate ironing._

"Over to the couch for you."

Elizabeth started to weakly protest when he lifted her up in his arms, but then allowed Jack to carry her to the couch.

"You gained some more weight", he noted casually.

* * *

He enveloped her in a quilt before turning his attention to the idle stove in the corner of the cold room.

Jack grabbed several small logs from the wood box and threw them into the open stove door. He glanced over his shoulder at Elizbeth to make sure she was still okay and then reached into the metal box on the floor and took out a handful of dry kindling and a crumbed piece of newspaper.

It only took one match to light the pile on fire. Jack waited a moment to make sure it wouldn't go out, and then closed the metal door tightly.

"I'm sorry I'm so much trouble" Elizabeth said feebly.

"Hush, you're no trouble."

"I had to walk back because the Wilkersons have whooping cough."

"I know. I just found out. I was worried sick about you."

Jack unlaced her boots and eased them off her frozen toes while she huddled under the quilt.

"Do they hurt?"

"I can't feel them."

Jack gently unrolled the wet socks, slipping them off her feet and dropping them to the ground to be picked up later.

 _He certainly is a messy hero,_ she thought for a second before returning her attention to his hands which were now massaging her toes.

"Tuck them under you while I put on a pot of tea."

* * *

He left her just long enough to fill the tea kettle and light the kitchen stove.

"Are you okay? The baby?" he asked when he came back into the parlor. He took off his jacket and threw it onto the over-stuffed chair next to the couch.

Jack sat sideways on the couch next to Elizabeth and moved his arms along hers. Gently rubbing her limbs through her blouse.

"We're fine. I'm cold but the baby's inside nice and warm. I was careful. I didn't fall."

"I'm sorry I didn't know. I should have gone for you. I should have ridden over there to make sure you were okay. I should have checked on you to make sure you got there, especially when it started to snow and sleet."

"It wasn't your job to -

Her voice was silenced by the whistle of the tea kettle.

* * *

Elizabeth took the cup of tea from Jack's outstretched hand and made room for him on the couch. "How was your day?"

He sat down next to her again but instead of snuggling close with their thighs touching, he gently picked up her quilt-covered body. He moved her a few inches and set her down on his lap.

Keeping one arm around her, he placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Now maybe you'll stop shivering."

Elizabeth leaned against his chest. She took a deep sigh and allowed Jack's strong torso to warm her.

"It was good. Other than finding my wife nearly frozen to death. I got two letters."

He tucked the quilt tighter around her and ran his hand through her hair before continuing.

"One was from Mountie Headquarters. You are currently sitting on the lap of Sergeant Jack Thornton."

"You got the promotion! Why didn't you say so?!"

Jack shrugged casually. "Your lack of a normal body temperature seemed more important than my promotion,"

"I'm fine. I'm so proud of you! I'm married to a Sergeant! I knew you would get promoted."

She hugged him tightly before continuing. "And I assume it comes with a pay raise."

"I thought you didn't care about money."

"I didn't care about money when it was just you and me and it was sunny outside. But now that we have a baby on the way and a leaking roof, I suddenly find myself caring."

"So you want me for my money?"

"And your lap."

"Ahh, Well at least it's not just my money."

He held her face steady with his hands as he slowly kissed her soft lips.

The warmth from his larger body passed to her, heating her skin as his own temperature increased with his desire.

The quilt slid to the floor as Jack took Elizabeth's hand and led her upstairs.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, Elizabeth shifted slightly and tried to get comfortable but finally the weight was too much.

"Jack, I can't breathe."

A half-asleep Jack, who was lying at an angle, lifted his upper torso three inches off of Elizabeth's bare chest and dropped next to her onto the mattress.

"First your fingers and toes are numb and now you can't breathe. You're an awful lot of trouble, wife."

"Very funny. You were loving what my fingers and toes were doing a little while ago."

"Mmmm. You can do it again in a few hours if you want", he replied sleepily.

Elizabeth, who should have been tired from her long walk but found herself wide awake, pulled the blanket up against her breasts and turned her head to the side towards her husband.

"Did you win at cards tonight?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"We had barely started playing when Bob Wilkerson came in looking for the doctor."

"What happened?"

Jack yawned before answering. "When he told me that you weren't at his place and had never even gone inside, I ran home."

"Thanks", she said quietly as she noticed Jack's eyes were closed and his voice was low as he hovered close to dozing off.

"I had three Aces by the way", he mumbled.

"I'll make it up to you sometime."

Jack turned over onto his back and reached his arm towards Elizabeth. "Come here. I miss your touch already."

Elizabeth scooted her body closer and leaned her cheek on Jack's chest. Her stomach nestled into his torso as he lay quietly.

* * *

Ten minutes later, she was still wide awake and she knew why.

She hadn't had anything to eat since lunch.

 _Food or warmth? If I want food, I have to get out of bed. Bed equals warmth. Decisions. Decisions. Darn. Why don't we have a bed in the kitchen. That's an idea! I bet other pregnant women would love having a bed in the kitchen._

The idea of getting her naked body out of Jack's warm embrace made her frown but she knew that her hunger would only get worse.

Slowly she extricated herself from his right arm which was wrapped around her shoulder as he slept. She moved onto her side of the bed, and then set her bare feet onto the floor. Shivering as they touched the cold wood.

His sleepy voice surprised her.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm hungry. I'm going to go make myself something to eat. Go back to sleep", she whispered.

* * *

Elizabeth, her feet encased in slippers and tucked under her body, sat on the kitchen chair closest to the stove.

The patchwork quilt from the couch wrapped around her and pooled on the floor. When she shifted in her seat, she made sure that the thick fabric didn't knock over the bucket which was collecting water from the leaking roof.

"Lots of cream", she instructed as she took a sip of tea. "It makes them fluffy."

Jack, his hair askew and wearing a robe, smiled. "I know. And pepper too."

He returned the container of cream to the ice box, shook the pepper shaker over the bowl, and deftly whisked the eggs before pouring the mixture into the hot skillet.

"Jack, who was the second letter you got from?"

"My cousin, Penny, in England."

"Is she the married one with two kids?"

"No. That's Angela."

Jack, using a spatula, moved the scrambled eggs in the skillet and then turned his attention to spreading thick pads of butter onto slices of warm toast.

"Is she the one married to the member of Parliament?"

"No. That's Paulina."

"Is she the nineteen-year old that was arrested for protesting for women's suffrage?"

"Yep. That's her. I'm going to make you some bacon too."

Elizabeth took another sip of cinnamon tea and watched Jack as he moved around the kitchen. He stopped to pick up her skirt from the floor and hung it neatly on the back of a chair to dry.

"The same one that almost caused a scandal when she decided to pose nude for the painter?"

"Yeah, that's her. She's a handful."

"Why'd she write you?"

"My uncle caught her kissing a stable boy in a horse's stall", Jack replied as he put the plate of food in front of Elizabeth and then handed her a fork.

"So?"

"They were sharing a bottle of my uncle's Chateau Lafite 1878."

"Chateau Lafite?"

"Expensive wine. Very very expensive wine."

"I guess your uncle wasn't too happy about that."

"Apparently neither was the stable-boy's pregnant wife."

"About the wine or the kissing?" Elizabeth mumbled as she put another forkful of warm eggs into her mouth.

"Both I think."

"What does Penny want you to do about it?"

"Uncle Peter is sending her to stay with my parents for a bit. To get away from the temptations of her life in England. She wants to come visit us for a while."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"I guess she can come for a few weeks. If you don't mind. Although, quite frankly, I'm not sure that even this newly promoted Sergeant will be able to control her."

"Then it's a good thing you're married to a school teacher."

"That's actually why I married you. So you could control my cousin."

"And I thought it was for what I could do with my fingers and toes."

Jack chuckled softly. "That too."

He kissed the top of her head softly. "Now eat some more. And then you can show me what you can do with those fingers and toes."

 **Up next: Chapter 46 - Penny**


	46. Chapter 46 - Oysters and Painters Part 1

**Chapter 46 – Oysters and Artists Part 1**

Elizabeth, lying on her side under the heavy feather bed cover, lifted her hand to her face and wiped away the single wet droplet from her cheek.

A minute later, she wiped away another.

She sighed, turned over onto her back, and then looked sideways at Jack as he slept soundly next to her.

As the morning sun filtered into the room, she turned to stare at the ceiling and then wiped away more moisture from her cheek.

She knew that she should just move out of the way. But feeling very stubborn, she decided that if she just stared upwards long enough and concentrated, the problem would be solved.

When she wiped away the fourth bead of water from her cheek, she decided it was time to wake Jack.

"Jack?"

"Jack?"

"What?" he mumbled. Keeping his eyes closed.

"It's going to be a nice day today. The temperature's already above freezing."

"How do you know?"

"It's melting the ice outside."

"What are you talking about?" he asked in the confused voice of someone only half awake. "You're still in bed."

His mouth moved. But nothing else did as he lay on the mattress. As if trying to get every minute of sleep before starting the new day.

"Well, unless you installed a window in our ceiling as a surprise for me, our bedroom roof is leaking."

Jack's eyes shot open and he looked up.

"Damn. You have got to be kidding me?!"

* * *

Elizabeth went down to the kitchen while Jack put on a pair of pants and then pushed the double bed four feet to the side. Moving it out of the way of the dripping water, which was staring to quicken its pace.

When she returned with an empty pot, Jack was staring at the ceiling in exasperation.

"You know, we could just move to Hamilton and live in a mansion. Then we wouldn't have to worry about leaking ceilings."

"I suppose. But it would be an awful long commute for us each day."

When Jack stared at her, Elizabeth continued in a serious voice.

"With you being a Mountie for Hope Valley, and me being Hope Valley's school teacher. You know, having to travel from Hamilton to Hope Valley every day for work."

Despite the state of their home with its unintended ceiling faucet, Jack's mouth turned up in a smile as he saw the twinkle in her eyes.

"Have I told you lately that I love you?"

"You have. But you can tell me again. Especially because every time you do, it makes me go all tingly inside." Elizabeth grinned as she paused while buttoning her blouse and looked at Jack across the room.

"All tingly inside?"

"Yeah. It's the darndest thing. I feel like I've been shocked with electricity."

"Electricity. Now that's another reason we should move to Hamilton. If we lived in Hamilton, we would have electricity in our house. Lights at the flip of a switch."

"I think we already have plenty of electricity in our house."

Jack couldn't help but feel pleased. He was still smiling about her comment ten minutes later when he sat down at the kitchen table.

Forty minutes after breakfast, when he walked to the jailhouse, he continued to grin at her compliment.

 _Electricity. We've got electricity. Because I'm one incredible husband_. _Yeah!_

* * *

The small upstairs room which Elizabeth planned as the baby's nursery was big enough for the dresser containing the baby's clothes, and a single bed, but not much more.

Elizabeth finished hanging the curtains on the rod and stood back to look at them. She smiled at the white fabric with the thin stripes of blue, pink, green, and yellow along the bottom edges.

 _Perfect. I am a pretty good seamstress if I do say so myself._

"I found a vase for the flowers", Abigail remarked as she entered the room carrying a small glass vase filled with an array of silk flowers.

"Thank you. I want it to look inviting. Like a mixture of a fancy big city hotel and an English country cottage."

"I've never been to either so I'll have to take your word for it", the older woman remarked with a grin.

Abigail set the vase onto the dresser and moved over to the bed, where she began arranging the pillows on it. Counting them as she fluffed each one.

"Just how many pillows did you make? Five? Six?"

"Seven. There's another one downstairs still. I was reading an article in Ladies Home Journal. It said a guest room should be plush with lots of fluffy accent pillows to make your company feel welcome and at ease."

"Well, I'm sure Penny will feel welcome and at ease here. It's lovely, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth sighed deeply as a worried look crossed her face.

"I hope so. I've never met her and she's coming all this way. I don't want her to think I'm just some boring small town school teacher."

"She'll think you're lovely. But she might find Hope Valley boring."

"She decided to come here directly from England and go to Hamilton after she's visited with us first. Jack says his mom is somewhat relieved. She was worried Penny may take up a lot of her time, especially since she's busy with her charity work right now.

"So she's dumping her on you?"

"She's not dumping her on us. Penny asked to visit us. And besides, I doubt Penny will be a problem."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I have more than two decades of experience dealing with challenging females. My sisters."

Abigail laughed. "Very true. When does Penny arrive?"

"A week from Wednesday. She's taking the train to Union City and then hiring an automobile to drive her the rest of the way here."

* * *

"I was thinking of getting a few new outfits," Elizabeth remarked then next day as she pushed aside another hanger and scrutinized the pale blue dress hanging in front of her. It's heavy thick fabric with its rounded collar would keep her warm in the cool weather as it covered her from neckline to her toes. The morning sun coming in the window behind her seemed to highlight the garment's boring color.

Jack, sitting on their double bed, pulled on a sock and looked at her over his shoulder.

"Sure. Are those too tight? Cuz they look fine. But if you're outgrowing them, find yourself something nice."

"No. Most of these fit fine for now. I just thought that with your cousin Penny coming, I would get something new."

"Why?"

"I'm sure she wears really fashionable clothing. And I could use some."

"You've never cared about being fashionable before."

"Of course I have", a stunned Elizabeth replied as she turned from the closet and stared at Jack who was now pulling on his slacks.

"No, you haven't. You just wear what you sew yourself."

"I don't make all my own clothes. And I still care about fashion!"

"Really? I guess I just never noticed", Jack replied with a shrug.

"How could you not notice?!"

Jack shrugged again as he tucked his shirt into his pants and pulled up his suspenders.

"I don't know. I guess I just don't care about that kind of stuff. You always look neat and pretty and sensible."

"I do not! I do not look sensible! I look – I look – I look fashionable."

Jack gave her a confused look. "Then why do you need new clothes?"

* * *

Lady Penelope was everything Elizabeth imagined. Young. Beautiful. Full of Life. Fashionably dressed.

When she stepped out of the hired black automobile, it was as if she brought the sophisticated and stylish lifestyle of British nobility with her. Including five full suitcases of it. And a woman.

"This is Annabel. My maid", she happily explained as the other woman, a petite pretty woman who Elizabeth guessed was in her mid-20s, stood next to her and offered her hand in greeting to Elizabeth.

"Your maid?"

"My lady's maid. Is there a problem?"

"I . . . I just didn't know you'd be . . .having a lady's maid accompanying you."

"You don't mind do you? I'll be happy to share her with you. Annie's wonderful with hair."

Penny's bubbly voice carried through the street as she looked around at her surroundings. "This is so exciting! We're out here in the wilds of Canada! If my friends in London could see me now!"

* * *

Elizabeth's surprise at a lady's maid accompanying Penny was outdone only by her surprise at Jack's reaction.

"I'm sorry, Elizabeth. I've been in Hope Valley so long, I guess I didn't even think about it."

"What does you being in Hope Valley have to do with it? How could you not tell me that she always has a companion with her?!"

"I'm just so used to being around you that I forgot how a real lady behaves", he remarked innocently as they walked toward the mercantile to pick up more groceries and Elizabeth worried about hosting two guests.

Elizabeth stopped in her tracks and gawked at Jack. "Excuse me?!"

"That didn't come out right."

"No, I'm guessing it didn't."

"I'm just saying that she's a lady. She doesn't travel unaccompanied. It wouldn't be right."

"I traveled to Hope Valley unaccompanied!"

"But you're not a lady. You don't need to worry about your reputation. Okay, that didn't come out right either. You're getting me flustered. Stop it."

"Oh no. We're just getting started."

Jack gently grabbed hold of Elizabeth's arm and began walking with her again.

"She is the daughter of a duke, which is why she has the title of a lady. As a lady of British nobility, she is expected to have a lady's maid with her at home and when she travels. You, on the other hand, are a lady not by virtue of a silly British societal system but because you are gentle and compassionate and well-mannered. As an added bonus, you are also independent, brave, and more than capable of traveling by yourself if you need to."

"And I don't need to worry about my reputation?"

"It would take a whole lot more than traveling alone to tarnish your reputation. You, my dear, are impeccable."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and looked sideways at Jack. "You think you can flatter me and get yourself out of this?"

"Yep."

Elizabeth shook her head slightly and found herself smiling despite her best attempt not to. "Well luckily you're right."

* * *

In the end, it was decided that Elizabeth would move to the guest bedroom with its single bed, Jack would sleep on the couch, at the jail, or in a tent on his nights out of town, and Penny and Annie would take the only bedroom big enough for two people and five suitcases full of clothing. With the Saloon full of boarders and Abigail's rooms full with her daughter-in-law, Clara, and Cody, the small orphan boy she had taken in, the row house swapping of bedrooms was the only logical solution.

Initially Elizabeth had been put out by the surprise of the extra houseguest, but her slight resentment lasted less than two hours.

"You don't need to do this, Annie. Really, I'm fine."

"It's no problem, Ma'am. You have beautiful hair", the lady's maid had replied as she finished running the brush with its pearl encrusted handle through Elizabeth's long hair. "And if you just let me know what outfit you'd like to wear tomorrow, I'll iron it this evening."

"Oh, you don't need to iron my clothes. I do that myself. I do everything myself," Elizabeth protested slightly as she felt Annie's hands begin to braid her hair.

"I'm guessing that you look exquisite in that soft pink dress I saw in the closet."

"I do! I love that dress. But it's getting a little tight in the waist and I haven't had a chance to let it out again. There's actually enough fabric there, I've just been so tired by the end of the day."

Annie finished braiding Elizabeth's hair, tied a long pink ribbon at the bottom of plait, and refilled her teacup.

"I have plenty of time to let it out in the waist. I'll get to it after I've helped you and Miss Penelope get ready for bed. Would you like some more honey in your tea?"

Elizabeth swallowed a bite of cookie as she nodded her head before speaking. "Yes, Please. And this tea is absolutely delicious."

 _Gosh, I like having a lady's maid!_

 _I mean, of course I miss Jack. But he doesn't even know how to braid hair! And he hates to iron!_

* * *

"And then Lawrence wanted to paint me. I was so flattered."

The four women were sitting in Elizabeth's front room for four o'clock tea. With Penny's infectious good nature and Annie ensuring that Elizabeth was coddled and treated as a guest in her own home, the past few days had been a delightful vacation of sorts for Elizabeth. Despite long days at the school house, she looked forward to the new ritual of afternoon tea at the row house.

The first day after Penny had arrived, Abigail had brought a plate of sandwiches which Annie had immediately taken into the kitchen. The lady's maid quickly seized a knife and set to work on the sandwiches. Without asking, she had begun cutting the crusts off all of them, and then cut the sandwiches, simple pieces of bread with cucumbers and butter, into even tinier sandwiches.

Now the women enjoyed proper English tea with properly sized dainty sandwiches on a proper paper doily every afternoon.

"Lawrence wanted to paint you?"

"Alma-Tadema. Lawrence Alma-Tadema", Penny replied as if it were obvious to anyone of a certain social standing that she meant the esteemed painter.

"I've never heard of him", Elizabeth remarked as she allowed Annie to refill her teacup. Carrying her silver tea serving pot, a present from one of the Thorntons' friends in Ottawa, the lady's maid moved on to Abigail's teacup.

"Oh, my. Really? Well, of course you haven't. Living out here it the middle of nowhere. He's just about one of the most famous painters in all of Europe. He was knighted by the Queen. Anyhow, I met him at summer party and he wanted to use me as model. Can you imagine? Me. A model for Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema! He's just the most marvelous painter. Of course, Daddy would have none of it."

"I suppose he was concerned about – your reputation."

"It's perfectly okay for John Singer Sargent to paint me. I mean Daddy was going to spend an absolute fortune to have him paint my portrait. He already painted my mother and sisters. And I totally understand that he paints in such a way that it reveals the individuality and personality of the woman. He's famous for that. And he'll probably paint my portrait next year. But Sargent paints lots of women in their fancy gowns. I'd be nothing special."

"But you would be. You'd have a beautiful professional and tasteful masterpiece of you by the famous John Singer Sargent."

"That my father commissioned."

"There's nothing wrong with that. That's how paintings are done. At least from what I know of them."

"Lawrence is different. He specifically wanted _me_ as a model. It would have been divine. Me. He wanted me! And I probably would have been one of his last ones ever. I mean, he's so old, he's probably going to die soon anyway."

"What's so special about him as a painter?" an oblivious Abigail questioned before noticing the warning look Elizabeth was throwing in her direction.

"His use of sunlight on a woman's skin makes its sensuality pop off the canvas. You can practically feel the warmth emanating from the flesh."

"But . . wouldn't you have been . . . um . . . unclothed?" Elizabeth cautiously asked.

"But that's the wonderful part of it! He wanted to paint me holding out a plate of oysters on a warm summer day while standing in an opulent dining room. Oysters!" Penny gave a little laugh as she said the word again.

"Oysters?"

"Well, yes. Because they're considered an aphrodisiac."

"An aphrodisiac?"

"You know, a food to stimulate romantic interest. It's said that if one eats oysters, he or she becomes romantically aroused. Everyone knows that."

Abigail and Elizabeth remained stunned in silence at the young woman's outspokenness, but Penny seems oblivious.

"Just imagine. I would be naked. Or possibly draped in a very sheer gauze garment. And holding a plate of oysters! How incredibly torrid!"

"On a summer's day? That wouldn't be the least bit realistic", Abigail noted.

When Annie and Penny looked at each other with confused expressions, Elizabeth nodded in agreement with Abigail before speaking.

"She's right. I suppose you might be . . . naked." Elizabeth said the word naked hesitantly before continuing.

" . . . .on a summer's day if it were terribly hot. But you wouldn't be eating oysters. Not in a month without the letter "R".

Elizabeth spoke as if it were obvious to anyone of a basic intelligence that oysters were only meant to be eaten eight months out of the year. And definitely avoided during certain months based on an arranged group of letters.

"Excuse me. I'm afraid you'll have to explain, Cousin Elizabeth."

"You aren't supposed to eat oysters in any month without the letter "R" in the name. I thought everyone knew that", a startled Elizabeth replied.

"But that means no oysters in May, June, July, or August!"

"That's right. At least not fresh ones. But you can eat them September through April."

Abigail swallowed a sip of her tea and set down her delicate china cup onto the saucer before speaking. "Oysters spawn in summer, when water temperatures are at their warmest. So oyster farmers don't like to gather them during the months of May through August because it gives the oysters time to reproduce. Also, just before spawning, oysters prepare for it which leaves them to have a tendency to get soft and well, they just don't taste the same. They taste kind of gross."

"And don't forget, the ice would melt so quickly in the hot summer months it would be impossible to keep the raw oysters from going bad" Elizabeth added. "They wouldn't be so much an aphrodisiac as a sure-fire way to get indigestion. Never eat fresh oysters in a month without the letter "R.""

Penny threw back her head and laughed. "I'm thinking of posing nude for a painter and you're thinking of spoiled shellfish. Aunt Charlotte was quite right about you. You really are the most interesting person, Elizabeth. How does Jack keep up with you!"

Elizabeth barely paid attention to the rest of the conversation as the other women continued talking. Instead she thought about what Penny had said.

 _Interesting? I'm not interesting at all. I'm a school teacher in a small town. Wearing boring sensible clothes._

 _I'll never keep Jack's interest._

 _Will I?_

 ** _Up Next: Chapter 47 Oysters and Painters Part 2_**


	47. Chapter 47 - Oysters and Painters Part 2

**Chapter 47 -** **Oysters and Artists Part 2**

As she lay in the single guestroom bed with the moonlight visible through the window, Elizabeth thought more about Penny's statement.

 _Does Jack keep up with me?_

 _Maybe he doesn't._

 _Maybe he doesn't want to._

 _I told him that he makes me feel tingly inside. But maybe I don't make him feel that way!_

Elizabeth frowned when she realized that Jack hadn't mentioned how she made him feel.

 _Maybe he needs an aphrodisiac and doesn't even know it._

 _Don't be silly. Of course, I make him feel tingly inside. He's usually all over me. Half the time, he can't even wait for me to take off all my clothes!_

 _. . . .Except he didn't even object to sleeping on the couch or at the jailhouse. Hmm. Maybe he's bored with me. We have been together a lot. Maybe too much too soon._

 _No, it could never be too much._

 _. . . Except there's nothing torrid about me at all. I'm impeccable as he put it. Impeccable. He means boring. Nothing scandalous._

 _I heard how he described Penny to Clint. He said that she was energetic, spirited, charismatic and even charming._

 _I'm an impeccable lady. Gosh, we haven't even been married a year yet! We've still got at least fifty years to go! He can't find me boring already!_

* * *

Elizabeth, surrounded by school papers, her typewriter, rough drafts of a story, and a thesaurus, sat at her desk. Unable to concentrate on work or her writing, she watched as Jack, with his strong shoulders and confident air, carried a load of firewood across the room.

"Jack how would you describe me?"

"White female. Five foot nine inches. One hundred forty pounds due to pregnancy. Brown hair. Good complexion", he replied immediately with the attitude of a well-trained Mountie.

"Seriously? That's seriously how you would describe me?" Elizabeth replied in disgust.

"What? Did I get the weight wrong? It changes every week. You can't hold that against me."

"I don't mean my _physical_ description. How would you describe my personality?"

"Is this another one of those magazine quizzes? Because if it is, they never turn out well."

"That's not true!"

"Last time, the quiz said that your perfect match for life was Rip. And he's a dog", Jack reminded her.

"I told you that was because I accidently marked the wrong answers", she replied defensively.

 _And I suppose it_ _didn't help that I kept replying that I wanted a loyal companion with good hair,_ she thought to herself.

"And the time before that your magazine quiz said that I should become a dentist."

"So maybe I went a little overboard on liking good oral hygiene on that quiz. You know I love the way you taste. And I'm not doing a quiz now anyway. I just was curious as to how you would describe me to other people."

"Elizabeth, we are a perfect match for each other. We don't need a quiz or anyone else to tell us how to handle our marriage. We are perfect just the way we are. Nice and comfortable together. Except I'm hungry. Is lunch ready?"

* * *

The couple sat at the kitchen table, enjoying having the place to themselves.

Their two British guests had left forty minutes earlier for an afternoon hike with two of the town's eligible single men.

It turned out that Penny wasn't the only visitor to pique the interest of Hope Valley's lumberjacks and railroad workers. Annie's accent and gentile nature had caused quite a few men to fall under her spell.

Remembering Penny's penchant for scandalous situations and the reason that her father had sent her out of England, Elizabeth had persuaded her longtime friend, Clint, and the woman he was courting, to go along as chaperones.

As Elizabeth took a sip of water, she hoped Clint would be a proper chaperone; she didn't want to imagine Charlotte Thornton's reaction if Penny got into trouble. Even if Penny considered the trouble to be fun.

"Jack, do you like shellfish?" Elizabeth, who still wondered how she had gone from desirable when they courted to "comfortable" now that she was married and pregnant, ventured to ask as she passed a basket of warm rolls across the table.

"I guess. I like the lobster bisque that our family chef makes."

"What about other kinds of shellfish?"

"Shrimp's okay. There's a restaurant in Hamilton that makes great shrimp scampi."

"Any other kind?"

"Abigail makes a great clam chowder."

"She does. But wouldn't you like to try other shellfish?"

 _Like maybe you'd like some oysters?_ she wondered as she used her fork to pick at the meatloaf on her plate.

"There's always crab legs, but I've never been a big fan of them."

 _For goodness sakes, think of oysters!_

"Anything else you might like to try with me?"

"I've never had crawfish. But I don't know where we'd have that around here."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes in frustration. _He doesn't even want an aphrodisiac._

"No other kind you'd like to try?"

"Why? Is this part of your pregnancy? Cravings?"

"Um . . . maybe. I'm not sure yet. I was just thinking about trying some new meals."

"And they have to be shellfish?"

"No. They don't have to be. I'm just thinking you might like it. Not that we've ever had problems in that area. But maybe with me being pregnant and gaining weight, you might need a little something extra."

"Why would I need something extra to eat if you're the pregnant one?"

"Oh, never mind", she grumbled.

"Why are you getting mad at me because I don't want to eat shellfish?!" Jack asked incredulously.

* * *

As Elizabeth cleared the dirty dishes, she thought more about Penny. Practically every single man in Hope Valley had been taken by the presence of Jack's cousin.

Even Elizabeth was enamored with her. The young woman from across the ocean was vivacious. Intelligent. Gracious. Unexpected. Like a tornado billowing through the small town bringing excitement. Leaving people in awe.

 _I want to be like that!_

 _I want to be like her!_

* * *

Penny and Annie had been in Hope Valley for just over a week when Elizabeth came home from teaching school at the end of the day and found their suitcases in the front room.

"Cousin Elizabeth, we are giving you back your privacy and your home! I've telegraphed Union City and an automobile will be here in an hour to take us to the railroad station. You've been wonderful! We're off to Wyoming!"

"Wyoming?"

"It's in the United States. Apparently, it's a state. Who knew?"

"I did. I know where it is and what it is," Elizabeth replied with a snicker. "But why are you going there?"

"For women's suffrage! To learn from the best!"

* * *

As the two women rode away in the automobile, Jack and Elizabeth stood in the street and waved goodbye.

"So, tell me again why they're going to Wyoming?"

"Wyoming was the first state to allow women to vote in Presidential elections back in 1870."

"So?"

"Since women are still fighting for the right to vote in Great Britain, Penny thought they should go to Wyoming and talk to women who have been voting for years. Then she wants to encourage some of them to go back to England with her to speak at suffrage rallies. She's very excited about it."

"Penny gets very excited about everything. Quite a few men are going to be sad to see the two of them leaving. By the way, I almost forgot." Jack reached into his leather satchel and pulled out a tin can.

"She asked me to pick this up for you when I was in Union City last night. I found it at their mercantile. I guess it's for some kind of new recipe or something."

Elizabeth blushed as she silently read the paper label on the can.

 _Bumble Bee's_ _Steamed, Shucked, and Smoked Oysters_.

"She said you'd know what to use it for it", Jack added as they began walking home.

* * *

"Can you hand me the rag on the dresser?"

Elizabeth picked up the cloth from the dresser and held it up to Jack, who was standing on the wooden ladder with a paintbrush in one hand. A small dish of paint was in his other hand.

He moved the handle of the paintbrush to his mouth and gripped it in his teeth as he reached for the cloth.

As she watched Jack wipe away a drip of paint, Elizabeth thought about last night's dinner.

There was no question about it. It had been a disaster.

Inexperienced with cooking seafood and totally a novice when it came to making a stew of canned smoked oysters, she had quickly overcooked the meal.

 _Five minutes! They were only in there five minute_ s!

Five minutes was all it had taken for the slimy brown oysters to turn into tough rubbery blobs. When Jack had picked up a spoonful of the stew and seen a shriveled mollusk with its edges curled up, he had actually asked Elizabeth if one of his sketching erasers had fallen into the pot.

 _Stupid oysters! I don't know why anyone in their right mind would consider them an aphrodisiac. They aren't the least bit romantic,_ she thought as she now stood by the ladder.

Jack handed the cloth back to Elizabeth.

"Now that the roof's fixed and definitely not leaking, I figured it was time to paint this spot. I know you wanted it to look good for Penny and Annie, but I just didn't have time."

"No. It's fine. They didn't even notice. Or else they didn't care."

"You're being kind of pensive. What's up?"

"Jack, did you –" Elizabeth's voice trailed off as she nervously contemplated what she was going to ask.

"Did I what?"

"Did you ever think about painting me?"

"Painting something for you?"

"No. Painting me."

"Like what? A nice shade of Tiffany blue?" Jack smiled as he held the paint brush in his hand and jokingly made a motion to her. "Because if you move a little closer, I may just put a dab of this on your cute cheeks."

"No, silly. Painting me. My body."

"Why would I paint your body? Kind of messy. Not to mention weird. It can't be healthy."

"Not painting me, _Painting ME._ Not on me. Like I would pose for you."

"I've drawn you. You know that."

"Yes. But that's when you've drawn me from memory. And those are pencil drawings. Just simple sketch drawings."

"Simple?"

"You know what I mean."

"Actually, I have no idea what you mean. I thought you liked my drawings."

"I do. I love your drawings. I just –"

Jack crinkled his brow and peered at her curiously from his position on the ladder.

"Just what? What are you trying to say?"

"You're an artist and –"

"I am a Mountie who likes to dabble in the arts. I'm not an artist."

"I know. I just was thinking about how you like to draw things that you find attractive, like landscapes, and once you painted that scene of the two of us kissing in the play backdrop."

"I do. When I have time."

"Right. When you have time. . . . . Have you ever heard of John Singer Sargent?"

"Of course, I've seen his work. He does landscapes, watercolors, portraits. His portraits of women are fantastic. Really amazing."

"Right. He does portraits of women." Elizabeth began fidgeting as Jack turned his attention back to the ceiling.

"Do you know other famous portrait painters?"

"I suppose."

"I was just wondering if you ever thought about painting a portrait of me . . . in the nude?" she said hesitantly.

"In the nude?" Jack asked absent-mindedly as he focused on the ceiling. "Why would I want to paint you while I was nude? I can just wear a smock to protect my clothing. That reminds me, can you wash my uniform pants for me? They got muddy on rounds yesterday."

"Not _you_ nude! _Me_ nude!"

Jack stopped painting and stared at her.

"You nude?"

"Yes, me nude! Why is that so hard to understand?!"

"Why would you want a nude portrait of yourself?"

"Oh, for goodness sakes! I don't want a nude portrait of myself! I want _you_ to _want_ a nude portrait of me!"

"You want _me_ to _want_ a nude portrait of _you_?"

"Just forget about it! Forget I said anything."

"You mean like nude as in no clothes?"

"Yes, that's what I meant. That's what nude means! No clothes."

"Is this because I made that comment about you not wearing fashionable clothes? For God's sake, I I still want you to wear clothes."

"Are you an idiot?! This has nothing to do with fashionable clothes!"

"I'm just confused. Why would I need a nude portrait of you? I get to see the real you nude every night."

"After this conversation, don't be so sure of that anymore!"

* * *

Elizabeth shoved the seasoned chicken into the oven, closed the heavy iron door, and put the pot holders onto the kitchen table.

Jack leaned against the counter and watched Elizabeth as she moved to the table and picked up a potato. She refused to acknowledge her husband's presence and instead grabbed the peeler and began removing the vegetable's brown skin.

Trying her best to pretend that the handsome man who dabbled in painting was not in the room staring at her.

"Where would we put this nude portrait of you? If I painted one."

"Never mind."

Jack continued to stare at her as she picked up another potato and furiously swiped at the peel. Purposely avoiding looking at him as her cheeks became pink.

"I mean if we hung it out in the open, don't you think it would freak out the baby?"

"Freak out the baby?"

"Seeing a life-size flat rendition of you. And not be able to . . . you know?

Elizabeth's brow wrinkled and she looked at him inquisitively. Waiting for him to explain.

"You know. . . seeing your naked chest and not be able to breastfeed your portrait."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "This is the stupidest conversation we have ever had."

"I highly doubt that," Jack mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"I said we could put it in the closet. But I'd probably get freaked out when I open the door to get a shirt and see you staring back at me."

"Enough already."

"I could keep it in the jailhouse. But then, men might start committing crimes on purpose so I'll arrest them. Just so I'll lock them up in the jail and they get a chance to look at a nude you."

Elizabeth tried to stifle a giggle but it managed to get out.

"And they'd make comments about how gorgeous you look.'

"They would not."

"But they would. Because you are gorgeous. And desirable. I'd have to beat them up."

"You can't beat them up. You're the Mountie."

"Then I'll just not arrest anyone. You know, avoid arresting anyone so they can't see your portrait at the jail. And the whole town would become lawless. Imagine the chaos your portrait would cause."

Elizabeth bit her lip to keep from smiling at his compliment and giggled again. "It wouldn't cause chaos."

"It would. I'd spend my days just staring at your portrait. Nothing would get done. I'd never leave the jailhouse."

"You wouldn't come home?" she challenged with smirk.

"Not until you were finished with the school day and were back at home and I could look at you in person."

"What about your rounds?" she asked, clearly feeling pleased with his comments.

"I'd try to take the portrait with me and obviously, it wouldn't fit very well on my horse. You know, because it'd be life-size. Hope Valley would become known as the town without a working Mountie."

"We can't have that. I don't think I could handle the guilt."

"You wouldn't be able to help it. The Mounties would have to replace me. I'd lose my job. We'd have to move back to Hamilton."

"Ahh. To a mansion."

"Yep. All because of a nude portrait of you."

"Can I make a suggestion?"

"Anything. Please. The town's future depends on it."

Elizabeth had to take a deep breath to stop herself from laughing before she could speak.

"I suggest we forget about a nude portrait of me and about living in Hamilton."

"You don't want to move to Hamilton? We'd have a home with electricity. Hamilton can be a very exciting city. Much more than Hope Valley."

"I think we have the perfect amount of excitement and electricity right here", she said with a knowing look

"My thoughts exactly."

 **Up next: Chapter 48**


	48. Chapter 48 - Means of Communication Part

**Chapter 48 Means of Communiation Part 1**

Elizabeth, clad in her flannel nightgown, flipped over onto her side and glanced at the body next to her.

He was lying on his stomach. His cheek with its morning stubble at the edges was pressed into the pillow. His eyes were still closed but Elizabeth recognized the slight movements he always made in the morning when he was awakened from her shifting body but not yet willing to open his eyes.

Already awake for fifteen minutes, she had remained under the thick bed covers.

Thinking.

Wishing that Jack would hurry up and get up for the day.

 _How can he sleep so long? It's almost six o'clock. Okay, so maybe he doesn't need to get up for another hour or so. But still, I'm wake._

The sun had just made it over the horizon. The house was quiet. Even Rip was still asleep.

Saturday morning. No school. No church services. Nowhere she had to be. Except a quick trip to the Cooper farm to pick up milk from her cow. But she would go in the afternoon. The Coopers still hadn't totally forgiven Elizabeth for the disaster at their farm months earlier when there had been a murder of crows, but they were grateful for the cow-for-milk deal which Elizabeth had arranged. She and Jack paid the food bill for the cow and allowed the Coopers to keep 2/3 of the milk in exchange for the Cooper's boarding and milking the animal.

Elizabeth tried to go back to sleep but she had a more pressing concern than a cow keeping her awake. Something else had been on her mind since she woke up.

"Jack?"

"Jack?"

"Mmmm"

"Are you awake?"

"No."

"Jack, do you love me?"

"You know I do", he mumbled as he kept his eyes closed.

"Do you love this baby?"

"You know I do."

His eyes remained closed.

"How much do you love us?"

Jack sighed and gave up trying to sleep. He shifted his body and put his legs over the side of the bed.

"What do you want?" he asked as he sleepily rubbed his face.

"Oatmeal. With cinnamon, please. And maybe some apple chunks in it", she replied eagerly as she sat up.

She shivered and rubbed her hands along her arms. "I would have gotten up but it's too cold outside of bed."

"Thank you!" she called out as Jack, without another word, put on his slippers and stumbled his way across the dark room. "I'll wait here patiently for you!"

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jack handed her a ceramic bowl. The spoon sunk into the warm cinnamon oatmeal with apple chunks.

Jack crawled back into bed, pulled up the covers to his chest, turned onto his side, and closed his eyes before wearily speaking.

"I put more wood in the stove. The house will be warm in a few minutes. Wake me up in two hours."

"I love you, Jack."

"I know you do. I love you too," he mumbled.

* * *

Two hours later, Elizabeth had finished reading the newest novel she had received in the mail earlier that week and was now scribbling on a pad of paper as Jack began getting ready for the day.

As with most things, Elizabeth had decided to go about the naming of their baby in a logical manner. The most efficient way was to organize possible names by categories.

Yesterday it had been flowers as possible names. Daisy. Rose. Violet. Poppy. Iris. Lily.

Before that it had been Christmas holiday names. Holly. Noelle. Natalie. Chrissy. Christopher. Nicholas.

Before that it had been famous literary characters. Juliet. Oliver. Fitzwilliam. Elinor.

Today she had decided to focus on virtues. It would only work for girl names. Tomorrow she would focus on boy names. Maybe military heroes for them.

Elizabeth looked at the words she had written on the paper in her hands.

Grace. _It means kindness. Poise._ _My mom would love it, but I bet Jack's mom would feel slighted_. _We could do Grace Charlotte. But she'd probably insist that her name came first. Charlotte Grace._

Joy. _Hmm. Maybe. But if she ever had a bad day, people would tease her about not having any joy that day. No. I don't like it. Too short._

Faith. _Yuck. Something about it just doesn't seem right._

Prudence. _People would think she was wise. That'd be good. Except it sounds too much like prude. Or a prune. That's call her Prude the prune. Or something awful like that._

Jack came back from brushing his teeth and pulled a shirt from the closet. He looked over at Elizabeth, who held the pencil between her lips and was looking pensive as she sat in bed.

"What are you doing?" he asked as he finished buttoning his shirt.

"Thinking of possible baby names."

"What's today's category?"

"Virtues. What do you think of Hope?"

"I think our daughter would think that they named this town after her. We'd have one very conceited little girl. Not to mention confused. She'd constantly be looking over her body for feathers."

"Feathers?"

"Yeah. From that poem you like so much."

When Elizabeth gave him a confused look, Jack continued.

"Feathers. Hope is the thing with feathers. Imagine what that'd do to our little girl. She'd think we had plucked her and made pillows out of her feathers. That's enough to send any child to a psychiatrist."

"Hush. I'm being serious. We need some names. Oooh, I've got it! The perfect name for a girl! Patience." Elizabeth looked up from her paper and her face broke into a grin.

"Patience?"

"Patience is a virtue. Love is patient! First Corinthians!"

"Patience?"

"It means –"

"I know what it means!"

"You just don't have any", Elizabeth muttered.

"I heard that. And I have plenty of it. I'm married to you, aren't I?" Jack chuckled and then dunked as the pillow thrown by Elizabeth narrowly missed his head.

"Hey, careful. I'm the only husband you've got. What other virtue names are on the list?"

"What do you think of Charity?"

"My mom would have a heart attack. Her granddaughter named Charity? Like she's some poor beggar child? Not going to happen."

"Good point."

"Now a rich sounding name like Tiffany might just work."

"Ooh. That's an idea! I do like the color Tiffany blue. And you gave me that Tiffany locket that I adore. And your parents have that Tiffany lamp with the beautiful blue stained glass in the library."

"A lamp? You remember a lamp in my family's library?"

"Because you kissed me next to it. It was the second time we went to your family home. I had found the library and was amazed by all the books. And then I saw the lamp with it's beautiful shade. I was running my hand on the intricate glass panels and you came in and kissed me. Every time I think of a Tiffany lamp, I think of that kiss."

Elizabeth sighed deeply as she thought of that moment. "It was a wonderful kiss. I was still all nervous about us and you made me feel all swooshy."

"Swooshy?" Jack chuckled. "Is that even a word?"

"It is. And I remember that day even if you don't" she said defiantly.

"Who says I don't remember it?"

"What did you say after you kissed me?" Elizabeth challenged.

Jack pulled his suspenders up over his shirt and onto his shoulders. He carried his boots over to the bed and sat down on the mattress, sinking it in a few inches.

He slipped his right foot into a boot and then paused instead of putting on the other one.

"If you were a character in a book, I would never put that book down. I would read it over and over again until I had every word memorized and I could close my eyes and picture you forever. No one has ever written a book that could hold my attention as much as you do."

Jack kept his back to a silent Elizabeth as he slipped on his other boot and then looked over his shoulder at her and began chuckling again. "Are you crying?"

Elizabeth wiped her eyes on the bed sheet. "You remember."

"I remember everything about us. About you. I've told you before. You're a hard person to forget."

She sniffled, wiped her eyes again, and shook her sentimentality away before speaking. "Tiffany Thornton might work. But today's list is virtues. I'll put Tiffany on my list of names to consider tomorrow when I do names that mean something really special to us."

* * *

Hours later, Jack walked quietly in the front door of the row house. Instead of announcing himself immediately, he hesitated and closed the door first. He didn't want Elizabeth to be surprised when she saw how he looked.

"Elizabeth, don't get upset, okay. I'm fine," he called out as he hung his worn leather jacket on the hook by the door.

She came down the staircase holding a small basket of laundry and looked at him curiously.

"What happened?"

"I had to break up a fight. I accidentally got punched."

When he turned to face her and she saw his swollen eye, he thought he saw a shadow of pain and worry cross her face, but it was gone in an instant.

"Well, I've been there before. Remember when I got between those two boys my first week here? Abigail warned me to never step between two coal boys when they're mixing it up."

"So, you're not even the least bit worried about me? Where's my doting concerned wife?" he asked in a teasing voice.

Elizabeth laughed. "You're fine. You can take care of yourself. But I'll get you some witch hazel to put on it."

She gave him a peck on the cheek and then moved towards the kitchen. "Follow me, my handsome husband."

* * *

The smell of soup simmering on the stove filled the warm and cozy kitchen.

Elizabeth set down the laundry basket on the table and moved to the cabinet. Looking on the medicine shelf, she noticed that Jack's occupation meant she was frequently running low on some supplies. She'd have to remember to pick up some more salves and aspirin next time she went to the mercantile.

Retrieving the glass bottle of astringent anti-inflammatory compound, she poured some on a dishcloth and motioned for Jack to sit down.

She stood between his strong legs which were encased in his work pants, and looked down at his face which was tilted up towards hers. He placed his hands on her ever-growing waist.

"How was your day?"

"Better than yours from the looks of it." She smiled as she dabbed the damp cloth on his eye.

"Ouch"

"Sorry."

"You could kiss me to take away the pain," he suggested with a grin.

Her lips were soft and warm as she touched his mouth, letting them linger for a moment before returning her attention to his eye.

"How's the name choice going?"

"I've decided. If it's a girl, I like Jacklyn. After you."

"After me?"

"Yep. It's final. If we have a daughter, she's going to be named Jacklyn."

"What if I want to name her after you? A little Elizabeth?

"I thought one Elizabeth was all you could handle."

"Good point. How's the boy name list coming along?"

"That's easy. It's going to be Jack junior if we have a son."

Jack chuckled. "I'm sensing that you like the name Jack."

"I _love_ the name Jack. "

"Then I'm very glad that it happens to be my name."

"It is a nice coincidence," Elizabeth agreed with a smile.

* * *

The witch hazel helped reduce the inflammation around the eye as well as color of the skin damaged by broken blood vessels. The kisses from Elizabeth had helped even more.

Two days later, Jack was still using the excuse that he needed tender loving care for his eye to wheedle extra attention out of Elizabeth. She ruffled his hair in a way he adored and kissed his forehead as she served him a plate of pancakes and then took a seat across from him at the kitchen table.

"Do you want apple juice? It's sweet and delicious."

"No, thanks. Coffee's fine."

"I wasn't talking to you, Jack."

Jack lowered the newspaper and looked around the room and then looked at Elizabeth who was staring at her stomach.

"Elizabeth, I'm sure our baby is smart, but you really can't expect to hold a conversation with it. If that's what you're doing."

"I'm trying something. One kick means yes. Two kicks mean no. I ask a question and wait for a response."

Jack raised his eyebrows and smiled at her from across the table. "How's your conversation going?"

"Not as well as I'd like so far. But we're just getting started."

"Good luck with that." He snickered and then took a sip of his coffee as he went back to reading the paper.

"You should like it", she countered. "You're the Mountie."

"Me? Why me? What does being a Mountie have to do with it?"

"It's like Morse Code. But instead of dots and dashes, we're using kicks", she explained happily. "I wouldn't be surprised if this is where the idea for Morse code came from. Probably Samuel Morse's wife came up with it. And, of course, as usual, a man stole the credit for it."

Jack set down the paper and gave Elizabeth an amused look. "Morse code has nothing to do with babies kicking in the womb. Samuel Morse wanted to transmit messages quickly over long distances. He got the idea from witnessing experiments in electromagnetism."

Elizabeth scrunched up her face in defiance. "How do you know?"

"Because he was a portrait painter before he invented the telegraph system. And, as we've already discussed, I know a thing or two about portrait painters. Or do we want to discuss that again?"

Elizabeth blushed. "Hush". _He's never going to let me forget about that stupid nude portrait idea!_

* * *

Elizabeth went straight from the schoolhouse at the end of the day to the jailhouse. The building was empty. Just as she hoped. She wanted to be in and out before Jack was back from rounds.

All day she had been thinking about the box of chocolates she had received in the mail four days earlier from Jack's mother. Elizabeth, having sworn off candy during her pregnancy and wanting to avoid temptation, had insisted that Jack hide the box of expensive decadent Belgian candies until after she had the baby.

But that had been four days ago. Four days of thinking of the sweet rich chocolate. The fillings of cherry brandy. The marzipan centers. The gooey caramel that stretched between two halves as you pulled a piece apart.

Elizabeth crossed the room, glancing at the two cells. She passed the bulletin board with its Wanted Posters and approached the desk. On the top surface were two more Wanted Posters that had come in the mail. The words Armed and Dangerous in bold black letters were stark against the white paper.

 _Why can't criminals stay in their own darn areas!_ Elizabeth grumbled as she turned the papers upside down so she didn't have the haggard faces looking at her.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and then quickly began pulling open the desk drawers. If Jack found her with the chocolates, he'd tease her endlessly.

 _And probably take them away because I told him to._

Luckily Jack rarely locked his drawers. In fact, he had been complaining that some of the drawers were broken.

Rummaging through the drawers, she pushed aside the small boxes of ammunition. The extra pair of handcuffs. A rolled-up cloth bandage.

 _What did he do with the box? It's got to be here somewhere._

The banging of the door as it closed caused her to jump in surprise.

"Jack! You scared me."

Elizabeth slammed the bottom drawer shut.

"Looking for something in particular?" he asked as he walked across the wooden floor.

His leather boots made an impressive, slightly intimidating, thud sound as he came towards Elizabeth.

"A pencil", she squeaked like a criminal caught in the act. A very inept criminal.

"A pencil?"

"So I could leave you a note."

"There's a pencil right there on the desktop", he noted with a nod of his head.

 _Darn. How could I not see that? What else was I looking for? Other than the real answer._

"Umm. Yes, but that is just an ordinary pencil. I was looking for a colored pencil."

"A colored pencil?"

"Yes."

"What color?"

 _What color? What color?!_

"A red one", she answered. Saying the first thing that came to her mind as she looked at his uniform. _My, he's impressive looking. . . and daunting. No wonder criminals confess._

"A red one?"

" Or a pink one. For . . . for. . . like Valentine's day."

"It's not Valentine's day," he observed. "Not even close."

 _Why is he so observant?!_

"No, of course it's not. But I meant red or pink like you would use in a Valentine's day card. And really shouldn't we celebrate Valentine's day more often?"

"Shouldn't we celebrate Valentine's day more often?" he asked skeptically with raised eyebrows.

"Lots of holidays are celebrated for more than one day!"

"Name one."

 _Name one. Name one. Darn. He's good at this interrogation thing._

"Um. That's really not important now, Jack. The important thing is that I wanted to leave you a note."

"I'm here now. You can just tell me what you wanted to write down. In the note. The note you wanted to leave me."

Elizabeth got the distinct impression from the gleam in Jack's eyes and that he wasn't buying any of her story. But there was no going back now, so she continued anyway.

"Um. Yes. Well, I just wanted to um . . . tell you that I love you. That's why I wanted the colored pencil. To make it more special."

"That was nice of you. I always like to hear that. But couldn't it wait until I got home."

"No. I just really wanted to tell you now. When I get a thought in my head, you know, I just have to do something about it. I love you!"

"I love you too. But you know that I always keep my sketching pad and colored pencils in the top left-hand drawer. You should have looked there first."

"Um, yes. But I was doing everything backwards today. So I had to start on the right-hand side." _Oh, God, Why did I say that. How stupid!_

Jack gave her a strange look. "Doing everything backwards today?"

"Yes. It's a pregnancy thing."

"The same pregnancy that causes you to want oatmeal with cinnamon and apples in the morning, toe rubbings in evening, chocolate milk every day, and makes your cry for no reason when you read my old love notes to you."

"Yep. That pregnancy. Well, I guess I'll be off now."

Elizabeth started to walk away but found herself unable to move. Glancing down, she saw that her skirt fabric had caught in the drawer when she had slammed it shut.

"Is there anything else, Elizabeth? Because I still have some work to do. And you're just standing there." Jack observed as he crossed the room and placed his holster with its weapon on the wall hook.

"Jack!"

"Elizabeth, I know how handsome I am and how you find it difficult to keep your hands off of me. How did you put it? Like electricity. But I've got some family contracts to look at and send out in the mail. And then I promised Bill that I'd ride over to check some mudslide areas with him. So, if you're done telling me that you love me, I'll meet you at home in a few hours."

"Jack", she wailed. "My skirt is caught. In your bottom drawer."

His dimples showed as he couldn't help his face from breaking into a smile. "That one has the broken lock. If you slam the drawer shut, it clicks in place."

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Elizabeth stomped her foot in frustration.

"I like seeing you as my prisoner."

"Jack!"

Jack shrugged. "I had no idea that you would be looking for a pink or red pencil so you could leave me a note," he innocently explained as he unlocked the drawer and removed her skirt.

He gave her a kiss on the cheek before smirking. "By the way, the box of Belgium chocolates you're secretly looking for is in our dresser under my socks."

* * *

"Have you talked to Elizabeth about getting out?" Bill asked Jack as they rode slowly out of town toward the hills which had been saturated with recent rain.

"Not yet. I'm not sure how to bring it up. She loves living here in Hope Valley. Teaching."

"How's she feeling with the pregnancy?"

"Good. Really good."

Jack paused before continuing.

"Did you know that Samuel Morse's first wife, the love of his life, died shortly after giving birth? That's why he invented the telegraph system. Because he was away painting a portrait when she became ill and by the time he received the letter and got home, she was dead and buried. He never got over the fact that it took him days to be notified."

"God, that's depressing. I wouldn't mention that fact to Elizabeth. She's got enough to worry about without having to think about something going wrong with childbirth."

"Believe me. I'm not."

The men rode in silence for another minute.

"He really invented the telegraph because his wife died after childbirth?"

"Yeah. Let's not talk about it anymore."

"Agreed. But I think you should talk to Elizabeth about you leaving the Force. What can go wrong with that?"

 **Up Next: Chapter 49 Part 2**


	49. Chapter 49 Means of Communication Part 2

**Chapter 49 - Means of Communication Part 2**

"Jellybean, do you got a minute? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Jack stood in the doorway of the kitchen and watched as Elizabeth, a white apron tied around her waist and a large spoon in her hand, moved efficiently between the stove and the counter.

"If you're worried about the large bill at the mercantile, I know I should have talked to you about it first. But the Brensons are down on their luck, so I picked up some stuff for them."

Jack shook his head. "No, that's fine. I'm glad you did. It's not that. It's something else."

"I know. I know. I accidentally shrunk your beige wool sweater from your mom. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left it in the hot water. I shouldn't have used hot water at all but I was trying to get the blood out from where you had cut your arm the other day."

"No. It's not that."

"And I'm sorry about getting honey in your boot. I think I got most of it out."

"It's not that either. In fact, I didn't even know about that. When the heck did you do that? How the heck did you do that?"

"Umm. Never you mind. What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I've been spending a lot of time working on the Crate business –"

"I know. What's going on with that? Can't your father and Tom handle it?"

"I should have talked you before. I just wanted to think about it for a while longer. I'm seriously thinking about quitting the Mounties and working full time in the family business."

"For God's sakes, why? Your day couldn't have been that bad."

Jack shrugged. "We're having a baby. I could die."

"You're not the one going into labor. I am. _I'm_ the one that could die."

"I don't mean in labor, you ninny. I mean as a Mountie. And don't talk about something going wrong in labor. You know I can't handle that."

"Why would you die as a Mountie just because we're having a baby?" Elizabeth asked seemingly absent-mindedly as she now concentrated on pouring melted butter on a dead and plucked duck which was stuffed into a roasting pan.

"Would you pay attention, please? We are having a baby. I don't want to worry that I may not come home to you one night."

"So don't get lost. Carry a compass and map with you when you're on rounds."

"Elizabeth! Be serious."

"I am", Elizabeth said defensively. She looked startled at Jack's own seriousness. "Pass me the pepper."

Jack took the container of pepper from the shelf and handed it to her before speaking. "My job as a Mountie can be dangerous. Very dangerous. We're having a baby. I need to provide for our family and I can do that in a job – in my family's job - where my life is not at risk every day."

Elizabeth waved her hand dismissively as she tried to concentrate on peppering the bird. "I think you're slightly exaggerating. Your life is not at risk every day. Yesterday, you sat at your desk and filled out log books and reports all day. It's not like the inkwell was going to attack you."

"That was yesterday. You know perfectly well that my job is usually dangerous."

"The day before yesterday, you helped the McPhersons find their lost lamb. Were you worried Little Bo Peep would show up and accost you?"

"I am trying to have a serious conversation with you."

"And I am trying to get this duck in the oven."

"You cannot avoid the inevitable! We have to discuss this!"

"There's nothing to discuss. So you got a black eye last week. So you're a Mountie. It's not a big deal." Elizabeth avoided looking at him and managed to keep her voice calm despite feeling herself on the verge of losing her composure. _Please stop talking. Please just go into the other room._

"It is a big deal. We need to talk about our future."

"There's nothing to talk about. You've had a long day. Wash up and go relax until dinner's ready."

 _Shut up already!_ she silently ordered him as she felt her heart begin to palpitate faster and faster. Taking her somewhere she didn't want to go.

"Elizabeth!" Jack's voice rose in frustration. "I need to quit the Mounties. I'm going to go work for the family business."

"You are not going to quit the Mounties. It's who you are. You love being a Mountie. You wouldn't be happy doing something else. And you're good at what you do."

Elizabeth moved past Jack and picked up a handful of chopped carrots. She tossed the vegetables into the roasting pan with the duck and then heaved the whole pan back into the oven.

"Maybe another 30 minutes. It will be delicious", she said as she wiped her hands, which were beginning to feel sweaty, on a dishcloth.

"Would you stop thinking about dinner and look at me?! We need to talk!"

Elizabeth slammed the oven door shut and turned angrily towards him. "Fine. Let's talk about it."

Her voice was cold and harsh. "You tell me how you're giving up your dream for me and this baby. How you'll go to work every day at an office job that you hate and come home tired and unfulfilled. And how you'll pretend that you're happy when you'll really be miserable. You tell me about that."

"It won't be like that. It's just that being a Mountie – " Jack's voice softened as he saw her getting more upset. The features of her face hovering between anger and the verge of despair.

"Go ahead! Let's discuss this. Tell me all the ways you could be killed if you stay a Mountie! Are you going to be shot? Fall off a horse? Thrown off a cliff? Maybe killed by a wolf or mountain lion? How am I going to end up a Mountie's widow? Tell me!" she demanded.

Her eyes became watery and tears began streaming down Elizabeth's face even as her voice had become louder and angrier.

"Elizabeth." Jack hung his head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up."

"No. Go ahead! You wanted to talk so let's talk", she yelled at Jack as he stood there frozen by his wife's sudden change in attitude from flippantly dismissing his concerns to a full-blown attack on him.

"Let's talk about your black eye, and your bloodied clothes, and when your body aches, and the Wanted men you look for. And the gun you keep with you. I can go to bed every night with my husband safely tucked in next to me. Never mind that you'd be unhappy in an office job and eventually will probably resent me and the baby. Or I can go to bed every night worrying that the man I love may die. Wondering how many kids we'll have together before someone comes to the door one day and tells me that I'm a widow. Do you think I want to talk about this?! Is that how stupid you are?! "

"I just thought if we talked – that maybe –" Jack's voice was meek as he looked helplessly at her and wondered how to undo the conversation.

"What do you want me to do? Do you want me to be responsible for you giving up a job you love? Because I can't do that! You don't think that I've thought about this before?! You don't think that I've lost sleep over it?! "

"But –"

"Do you not think that I get a jolt of reality every day when we leave for work? Me with my textbooks and you with a gun! Every day when you go off to work, I push aside those thoughts of you in danger. And instead I think about your kisses. And the way you touch me. And how we'll have lots of children together. And we'll be happy and old and grey-haired together."

"I'm sorry. I –"

"Why the hell do you think I decided to name the baby after you?! Because I know you might not be with me forever. And I need a part of you always."

A stunned Jack stared at her as she ran from the room. Tears falling down her face and blurring her vision. She couldn't have screamed at him any more even if she wanted to. Her sobbing, which was now wracking her pregnant body, wouldn't allow any more words to be said.

Jack turned to go after her. By the time he made it to the top step, she had already closed the bedroom door. Locking him out.

He slumped against the door. Head in his hands.

She had been right.

He had been stupid to think that just because she never talked about, she had never thought about it.

* * *

As he leaned against the hard wood separating him from his wife, it was obvious to him that Elizabeth had thought about it. A lot.

And yet, she had chosen to bury her concerns and let him keep the job he loved.

 _Because she loves me_.

The knock on the front door took Jack by surprise. He ignored it the first time, but when he heard the rapping again, he made his way downstairs.

"It's really not a good time, Abigail," he explained when he opened the door and saw her standing there with an apple pie.

"Is she feeling okay? Is it the baby?"

"No. It was me. I – I said something stupid."

"Want to talk to me about it?"

* * *

Abigail sighed when Jack finished explaining what had occurred.

"Jack, do you remember when you first came to my house for dinner? When you first came to town? You asked me if my husband and I had ever talked about the danger of him working in the coal mine."

"I remember", Jack nodded. "You said that there's an unspoken contract that every coal miner makes between himself and his family. Never to talk about the danger."

"I expect it's the same with men in law enforcement and their wives." Abigail put her arm on Jack's shoulder and gave him a squeeze. "She'll be okay. Let her deal with it how she sees fit."

* * *

Sometime while Jack had been putting the roasting pan with the duck into the icebox, letting Rip out one more time, and closing up the house for the night, Elizabeth had unlocked the bedroom door.

When he turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door, he didn't hear a sound coming from inside.

In the light emitting from the kerosene lamp, he could see her body curled under the heavy winter bed covers. Her curls were sprawled on the pillow. He couldn't clearly see her facial features in the dim light, but he could rightly assume that her eyes were red and puffy. Her cheeks blotchy from the crying.

Jack discarded his clothes on the floor and pulled back the covers on his side of the bed. It was only seven o'clock – far too early for sleep – but he didn't care.

She didn't move or say a word. Until he wrapped his arm around her belly and tucked his chin against her shoulder.

"You told me that we would grow old together", she whispered.

"We will. I promise. You were right. There's no need to talk about my job. Because I'm always coming home to you and our babies. No matter what."

Her nose was stuffed from her crying and she had to breathe through her mouth.

"I'm sorry I called you stupid."

"Shhh. It's okay. You once promised to forgive me for every stupid thing I said or did. Let's just chalk that up to one more stupid thing I said."

"What are we going to do?"

"I have an idea. Can I tell you?"

Jack felt her head move in a soft nod against his body.

"I will keep involved in the family business to some degree. Eventually when I'm tired of being a Mountie, the company will be there for me. In the meantime, now that I'm a Sergeant, I am on the leadership track. I'll do my best to keep getting more promotions and supervisory positions. I'll be able to lead others. To teach. To still love my job and be in a less risky position. How's that sound?"

Jack pulled back slightly when his hand was pushed back. "Hey, how'd you do that?"

Despite her weariness, the corners of Elizabeth's mouth moved up into a smile. "It wasn't me. It was your son or daughter kicking."

"One kick", Jack noted quietly.

"One kick", Elizabeth repeated.

"That means yes?"

"That means yes."

* * *

"I love you, Jack."

"I know you do. If you never told me again for the rest of our lives, I would still know it. I love you too."

"I know you do."


	50. Chapter 50 Love Taps Part 1

**Chapter 50—Love Taps Part 1**

The cast iron stove heated the kitchen, making the small space feel cozy as the couple spent time alone after their hectic day among school students and townspeople.

Elizabeth's hands were wet and soapy so she used her forearm to wipe a wayward curl from her face as she stood in front of the sink.

"I was so busy telling you about my day, that I haven't even asked about yours", Jack remarked as he brought the dirty dinner plates and eating utensils from the table to the counter and set them down next to the frying pans. "How was it?"

"Awful. I'm not sure if my pregnancy causes me to lose my patience or if it's just time for a school holiday."

"What'd the students do?"

"I was giving a lesson on mammals and they started to argue with me."

"Over mammals?"

"I think they realize I'm a bit too exhausted or sensitive to put up much of a fight some days. It's like they see me as a weak animal they can take advantage of. You know, see how much they can get away with. I secretly think they are hoping that if they irritate me enough, it will push me into labor and I'll cancel class for the rest of the day."

"This was all over a lesson on mammals?" Jack asked in disbelief, wondering if he had heard correctly.

"Yes. On mammals", Elizabeth grumbled as wiped a dishrag across a plate and then held the plate under the faucet. She moved her body slightly to the side so Jack could pump more water. Allowing it to run over the plate and rinse away the suds.

"How can a lesson on mammals become argumentative?"

Although she had been frustrated at school, Elizbeth couldn't help but smile as she now relayed the events to Jack. "Patrick kept arguing with me that a coconut is a mammal."

"A coconut?!"

"Because it has hair and provides milk", she said with a giggle. "Of course, he got Jenny to agree with him."

Jack snickered. "What'd you do to him?"

"Nothing for that. But I gave him detention when I caught him teaching the younger students that a crib is a mammal. Because it has four legs and a baby inside."

Jack laughed aloud, took the dishrag from Elizabeth, and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You've had a long day. I'll clean up the rest of the dishes. You go sit on the couch and relax."

* * *

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Elizabeth stirred on the couch as she felt Jack's fingers on her shoulder. Keeping her eyes closed, she wiped her mouth which she sleepily suspected had drool dripping from it.

Tap.

Long tap.

Long tap.

"Stop", Elizabeth mumbled as she swatted the air with her hand.

When she was tapped three more times, this time on her back, Elizabeth opened her eyes. "What? What is it?"

"It's time for bed. And I am not about to carry you upstairs and maybe accidentally drop you."

Jack reached out his hand and helped her to her feet.

"How long was I asleep?"

"You fell asleep sometime between me washing the rest of the dinner dishes and letting Rip out. I read two chapters of my book while you slept. So I'm guessing about forty minutes."

Elizabeth yawned as she moved across the floor. "Probably fifty minutes. You're a slow reader."

"Watch it, jellybean, or you'll be sleeping on the couch all night."

"There's not enough room. Because you'd have to join me. You know I don't sleep well without you", Elizabeth replied sleepily as she held onto the banister and made her way upstairs.

* * *

Elizabeth slept peacefully with Jack by her side. Since their fight four nights earlier, or rather, her hysterical fit as he tended to describe it in his mind, he had made sure that a part of him was touching her while they slept.

Her legs tucked under, or between, his. Her head on his chest. His arm around her waist. It wasn't the same each night, or even the same throughout the night, but it was always something.

While Elizabeth seemed to largely have forgotten the incident in the kitchen where she had cried about the dangers of Jack's job, he couldn't stop remembering her words. _I can go to bed every night worrying that the man I love may die._

He was determined that rather than think of his possible demise, she was thinking about his warmth.

* * *

The next morning, Elizabeth sang a little tune as she set the plate of biscuits on the kitchen table in front of Jack, who was paging through a catalog of saddles and tack which had arrived in the mail the day before.

Sitting down in the chair across from Jack, she placed a cloth napkin on her lap and eagerly dipped her spoon into the warm oatmeal. She had eaten half the bowl's contents and was daydreaming about living on a tropical island – and eating coconuts and a box of chocolates - when she noticed the repetitive sound of metal against glass.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Pause.

Tap.

Long Tap.

Long Tap.

Elizabeth frowned slightly as she watched Jack absent-mindedly tap his spoon against his glass of orange juice. "Is everything okay?"

Jack looked up from the catalog and smiled. "Everything's fine. The oatmeal's good. The biscuits are really good."

"Anything on your mind?"

"Nope. Just looking at saddles."

Elizabeth gave a little shrug and returned her attention to her oatmeal as Jack went back to looking at his catalog. _I guess it was just my imagination that he's nervous about something. He's never been a tapper before_.

* * *

The large package arrived in the mail three days later. If she would have looked back on those three days, Elizabeth wouldn't have thought much was different with Jack during that time. In fact, the only suggestion that something was on his mind was a new habit he seemed to have picked up. Tapping. And now the package.

Elizabeth wouldn't have even noticed the package except that when Mr. Yost, who ran the post office as well as the mercantile, bent down to get her a skein of string from under the cashier register, she saw it on the counter behind him. The crate – easily three feet by two feet in size - had the Thornton name written in four inch letters.

"Oh my! I didn't know we were expecting anything", she exclaimed in pleasant surprise.

"It's not for you, ma'am. It's addressed to your husband. He said he'd be by later to pick it up"

Elizabeth smiled. "I can see that it's addressed to him. But as you just noted, we're married. I can't read the return address label from here. Can you read it to me?"

"I sorry, Mrs. Thornton, but since its addressed to the Sergeant, I can't really divulge any information. Here's your string. That'll be 30 cents."

Elizabeth scowled. _My goodness, he's being difficult. It's not like Jack and I have secrets from each other._

The longer she stared at the package, the more Elizabeth's curiosity was piqued. As she handed 30 cents to Ned, she gave him a friendly smile. But despite her smile and renewed request, Mr. Yost refused to allow her to examine the crate. Instead, he covered it with a cloth, leaving her to feel frustrated as she gave up cajoling him and finally walked out of the mercantile.

* * *

"Did you get the mail?" Elizabeth, sitting comfortably on the couch, asked hours later when Jack walked in the door.

Jack hung his hat on the wall hook inside the front door and reached into his pocket, pulling out a thin envelope. "You got a letter from your sister, Julie."

"What about the package? Didn't Ned Yost give it to you?"

"Yeah. I left it at the jailhouse."

Elizabeth stared curiously at Jack as she took the letter from his hand. "Why? What is it? Ned was being so secretive. He wouldn't even let me see the return address label."

"It's just something I thought might be nice to have here in the house."

"In the house? Then why did you leave it at the jail?"

"It's not time yet."

"Is it something for the baby?"

"Nope."

"When is it for?"

"You'll just have to wait and see. Although, after I ordered it, I realized we can't even use it. I guess I liked the idea so much, I wasn't thinking straight."

"We can't even use it?"

"Nope."

"Then why don't you return it?"

"Because you, my dear wife, are going to love it", he said before giving her a quick kiss on the cheek and heading into the kitchen. He paused after three steps and walked back to her.

Cupping her smooth cheeks in his hands, he gave her a long lingering kiss.

"Mmmm. I've been thinking about doing that all day", he said before he moved away again. Leaving her feeling momentarily dazed.

A love-stuck Elizabeth touched her fingers to her mouth, almost still feeling the warmth of his lips on hers. _How does he do that to me?!_

She shook her head to clear images of his kisses and hurried into the kitchen after him. Opening the icebox, she took out the cream and handed it to Jack as he took a mug from the cabinet and then poured himself some coffee from the pot brewing on the stove-top.

"Is this warm?"

"I just made it", she answered. "I'm going to love it even though we can't use it?"

"Yep."

He leaned his back against the counter and took a long sip of the warm drink.

"And that's all I'm going to say about it", he added with a gleam in his eyes.

* * *

The next evening, while the stew simmered, Elizabeth sat at her desk, surrounded by her usual assortment of objects – papers, a thesaurus, her typewriter – and tried to concentrate on how to describe a particular scene with Constable Theodore, the handsome dashing Mountie in her stories.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sound interrupted her thoughts of the fictional Mountie and she realized that his actual human form, who was just a few feet away from her, was responsible for the tapping.

Elizabeth looked up from the stark white paper in her typewriter and glanced at Jack, who was sitting on the couch, a pencil in one hand hovering just above the table. His body was bent over as he stared at the large calendar lying on the coffee table.

Tap.

Long Tap.

Long Tap.

Jack paused again from hitting the pencil on the wooden surface of the table. Holding the pencil in one hand, he flipped through another month in the calendar.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

"Jack, is something on your mind?"

"I have looked through this entire calendar and there is not a single holiday which is celebrated more than once a year", he said as he feigned disbelief and leaned back into the couch.

Elizabeth smiled as she thought about how he had caught her in the act of searching for a box of chocolates at the jail house, and she had tried to divert his attention by discussing holidays. "You're not going to let me forget about that, are you?"

"Not only am I not going to let you forget about it, I'm going to do something about."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Now that's part of the secret you're going to have to find out."

Jack got up from the couch and headed towards the kitchen. "I'm starving. I'll set the table."

* * *

The aroma of the beef as it soaked up the spices and mixed with the sliced onions and carrots caused Elizabeth's stomach to rumble in hunger. She was stirring the stew, getting ready to take it off the stove when she heard it.

The sound usually made by someone who was nervous.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

She glanced down and to her right.

Jack was leaning causally with his back against the long counter watching her. The boot on one of his feet moving up and down in no discernible pattern.

"Jack, is everything okay? You're not worried about anything at work, are you?"

"No. Everything's good. Work was great today. Absolutely beautiful riding."

 _Why has he suddenly started tapping so often?_ _A nervous tic? The desire to be in a band?_

"Everything else okay?" Elizabeth asked as she placed the pot of stew on the table and then sat down as Jack pulled out her chair for her.

"Perfect", he answered with a smile as he sat down.

"You're not keeping anything important from me, are you?"

"Not that I can think of. So how was your day?"

"Jack, seriously. If there's something . . . . scary . . . or worrisome . . .that I need to know, you'd tell me, right?"

Jack reached across the table and picked up her hand, cradling it in his.

"I am not keeping anything scary or worrisome from you. I promise. I love you. The only thing I might suggest is that you use those teachers-college brains of yours", he said with a gleam in his eye as he released her hand and picked up his fork.

"My teachers-college brains? Just what are you up to?" She looked at him suspiciously but with a small grin.

Jack chuckled. "How was your day?" he asked. Elizabeth realized that she wouldn't get any more out of him tonight.

"It was awful", she responded as she took a roll from the small basket in the table's center.

"Again?"

"I told you, the students are trying to break me. I've gone from being a stern but loving teacher to a pregnant woman. They're stir crazy with the cold weather and being stuck inside most of the day."

"What was today's problem?"

"Haikus"

"Hi who's?"

"Haiku. It's a Japanese poem which doesn't rhyme. They are three lines with only seventeen syllables. Written in a five-seven-five syllable count."

"Why?"

Elizabeth snickered. "Just because."

"Give me an example."

"Let me think."

Elizabeth looked across the table at Jack as he put a forkful of stew into his mouth. _This is what love is. Creating and reciting poetry to each other! Expressing our tender thoughts in poetic verse. Gosh, it's romantic._

She sat quietly for a minute. Thinking of just the right words. The correct number of syllables. The perfect image of their lives.

"One white winter day. I kissed your perfect warm lips. I thought of your love", she finally said with a smile. "Now it's your turn."

Jack took another forkful of stew and slowly chewed the food while Elizabeth enthusiastically watched him. Anticipating a sweet haiku of their love.

 _Maybe about my hair. It is very pretty today. Or maybe about my beautiful blue eyes. Your beautiful eyes. That's five syllables_. . . . .

 _He certainly is taking a long time. . . ._

 _Maybe he can't decide between his romantic thoughts. I'm sure he has a lot of them about me. Maybe my lips! Like I said something about his being perfect._

 _What thoughts fill his mind?_

Jack took his right index finger and tapped it to the fingers on his other hand, silently counting syllables. When he was satisfied, he swallowed and took a sip of water before speaking.

"This delicious stew. White potatoes and warm meat. Yummy yummy yum."

Elizabeth threw her napkin at him in disgust. "You're as bad as my students."

"It's good stew!" he exclaimed with a chuckle.

* * *

The moonlight shown through the window as the couple lay quietly.

Jack, propped up in bed against two soft pillows, turned the page in the novel he was reading and glanced off to his side at Elizabeth.

She had fallen asleep sometime between his reading of the mysterious murder of the fictional banker and the arrest of the chambermaid two chapters later.

He looked at the pale skin of her face on her pillow, the way she was sleeping curled slightly on her side, and he smiled as he counted the syllables in his mind.

 _Dear Elizabeth_

 _You are forever the one._

 _You're my love always._

 _Much better than my stew haiku,_ he thought with a chuckle as he went back to reading his book.

* * *

The air felt like snow two days later.

It did more than feel like snow - It smelled like snow.

It was that kind of smell that was indescribable. If Elizabeth had been asked to explain why it smelled like snowfall was coming, she would have used words like crisp and clean. Heavy. Excitement. None of them had anything to do with her olfactory senses, but it didn't matter. To her, it smelled like snow.

"How's the Morse Code working out so far?" Abigail asked as the women walked down the street.

"Not so good. He's too fast. So far, I've got only the first two letters. And I'm not even sure if they're right. It might be the first three letters."

"That's it? This has been going on for days."

"I know. I know", Elizabeth grumbled. "But it took me awhile to figure out what he was doing. And he does it so quickly."

"And he won't give you a clue?"

"I haven't asked him."

"You haven't asked him?"

"Nope. Two can play at this game. I am not about to admit that I need help. I haven't even told him that I finally know what he's doing. And I don't plan on telling him that I know. So don't say a word, please. Ned gave me the list of how many dots and dashes there are for each letter. He also gave me one of those strange looks. Like I was going to try and take his job or something."

Abigail shook her head in amusement. Her own marriage to Noah had been full of love, but it certainly had far less confusion and intrigue than Jack and Elizabeth's relationship.

If ever a couple was a perfect match of emotions, love, and enthusiasm, it was the two of them.

When Elizabeth had mentioned to Abigail that she suspected Jack was tapping her a message in Morse Code, Abigail had rolled her eyes and wondered why the couple couldn't be just another ordinary boring couple. But when she saw them together, she knew why.

There was something special between them. Something that had been there since the first day they had met each other.

Abigail suspected that if Elizabeth and Jack had never met each other, they could have been content married to other people.

But what they had with each other was much more than contentment. So much more.

It was love. Full of excitement. Comfort. Joy. Worry. Hope. Dependability. Adventure.

 _And now apparently secrets and Morse Code,_ Abigail thought with a slight snicker.

* * *

Elizabeth wiped her hands on her apron and then wiped the sweat from her brow. This recipe was far more difficult than she had anticipated. Desiring to make a delicious meal for Jack, she had finally opened the book which his mother had sent months ago.

Mrs. Seely's Cook Book: A Manual of French and American Cookery with Chapters on Domestic Servants, Their Rights and Duties, and Many Other Details of Household Management.

 _Believe me, if I had a domestic servant, I wouldn't be in the kitchen making this meal myself,_ she grumbled.

Nothing was going according to plan.

Halfway through the preparation, Elizabeth realized she shouldn't have chosen Chateaubriand as the entrée.

 _Shallots. Onions. What's the difference?_

 _Reduced sauce?! Why do I have to make so much in the first place if I'm just going to reduce it?!_

She took a small sip of white wine from the bottle before she poured more of the liquid into the pan with the chopped onions and watched it sizzle.

 _Demi-glace? I don't understand_ , she whined to herself as she continued to read the recipe.

 _Why do I need demi-glace if I have a reduced sauce?_

Looking at the clock on the wall, Elizabeth noted the time, shoved the beef into the stove, and returned her attention to the recipe instructions. _After browning on all sides, cook in the oven for exactly 11 minutes. . . . That's fine. That gives me plenty of time._

Wiping her hands on her apron again, she continued reading.

 _Oops. I skipped this part. I'll have to do it now. Add mushrooms. . . . No problem._

 _Then add veal stock in proportions equal to the amount of wine that was originally used before the reduction. Reduce this liquid to half its size,_ she read carefully _._

 _WHAT?!_

 _Veal stock?! I don't have veal. I don't have veal stock! I don't want to have veal stock! It's horribly mean. Poor baby calves!_

Just thinking of baby calves being turned into veal stock caused Elizabeth's eyes to water. She suddenly found herself sobbing uncontrollably as she imagined the small animals, only a few weeks old, being slaughtered to please a wealthy diner.

Tears ran down her face and she wondered if mother cows missed their young. If they knew they were being turned into veal.

She held her belly and sat in the chair crying into her apron as she envisioned the tiny creatures with their trusting eyes and their cute big ears.

They had discussed cows, including her pet which she kept at the Coopers, in class when she had been teaching about mammals. She remembered telling the students that mother cows are pregnant for nine months before they give birth. The same amount of time that she would be pregnant! For some reason, this thought made her cry even harder.

She had never cried about an ingredient in a recipe before. Unless you count onions, and that was not for sentimental reasons. Now she found herself wanting to run outside and free every calf she found.

* * *

It took ten minutes for a pregnant and emotional Elizabeth to regain her composure and re-focus on preparing the meal.

 _Julienne the carrot sticks,_ she read as she wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.

Elizabeth washed the carrots under the cool pump water. Carefully scrubbing the dirt from each piece before peeling them and cutting off the green stalks.

She began slicing the root vegetables, paused to look at the size, and then moved to the drawer and took out a box of matches. Removing a single match, she placed it on the cutting board next to the carrots and stared at it.

 _Each carrot slice should be the approximate size of a matchstick_ , she read.

 _I can do that_. _I made these too big. But that's okay. I'll just re-cut them._

The time on the clock ticked by as Elizabeth meticulously cut the carrots into thin strips.

 _Ouch. Darn_.

Elizabeth popped her sliced finger into her mouth.

It was then that she remembered the time.

 _No!_ she wailed.

* * *

An hour later, Elizabeth stood in Abigail's kitchen as the older women wrapped up a chicken pot pie for her.

"How's the deciphering going? Any more progress?"

"I thought I was making progress but I'm not still sure where the letters begin and end. I'm barely able to distinguish the pauses between them. Last night when we were playing "Crazy Eights", he was holding his cards and tapping them while I was trying to think of the next move to make. I didn't know whether to concentrate on the tapping or the cards I was holding. I ended up getting confused and lost the game. Now I have to take out the trash for a week."

"Good thing you weren't playing for money. So what letters have you come up with so far?"

"You don't want to know."

"Tell me!" a curious Abigail insisted.

"He's either telling me that he wants to eat a sock or that he thinks he saw Bigfoot."

Abigail let out a loud laugh. "I think you need to listen some more."

"I'll figure it out. A Thatcher never runs from a challenge."

"But you're a Thornton now", Abigail reminded her with a smile as she handed the package to Elizabeth.

"Well, a Thornton certainly doesn't give up either. And I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the mysterious crate which arrived earlier in the week."

"Still no idea about that either?"

"Just that I'll love it but we can't use it. Thank you so much for helping me out here, Abigail. This looks delicious." Elizabeth quickly changed the subject.

Despite what she had just told Abigail, she was actually pretty sure she had figured out Jack's message. Although she still had no idea what was in the crate, she had spent an hour this afternoon going over the repetitive taps. Looking over the notes she had been making on scraps of paper. Comparing her notes with the Morse Code sheet which Ned had given her. She didn't like to keep things from Abigail, but once Elizabeth had finally deciphered the message, she realized it was so . . . cute. So personal. So singularly meant for her, that she couldn't bear to share it.

"Do you need a dessert?"

"No, my dessert should be fine. I just have to borrow a blowtorch from one of the railroad workers to finish it up", Elizabeth replied happily before she turned and walked out the door.

Leaving a stunned Abigail standing in the kitchen and praying that she had heard incorrectly.

 _A blowtorch?!_

 ** _Up next: Chapter 51 Love Taps Part 2_**

 **Dear Readers, this is somewhat of a milestone as it is the 50** **th** **chapter to this story. Just over a year ago, I started this story on a whim. I had just finished the sixth story in my Vignette series on Jack and Elizabeth, when someone jokingly challenged me to write a story totally different from anything else. When I flippantly replied, "yeah, right, like a role reversal?", the answer was "Why not?" What started out in response to a simple challenge has now turned into one of my favorite evening past-times. Thank you all for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing! I hope my story of a rich Jack and a middle-class Elizabeth makes you smile and adds a little happiness to your day.**


	51. Chapter 51 - Love Taps Part 2

Chapter 51 – Love Taps Part 2

The crème brulee was a disaster.

The dessert's rich custard base was thinner than Elizabeth had expected. She had wishfully hoped that the eventual top layer of hard caramel would disguise her lack of expertise at whisking, blending, and baking.

It didn't help that she hadn't given herself enough time to cool the desserts in the icebox for two hours. Not if she wanted them to have their top coating of sugar caramalized by the time Jack got home from work.

With the pot pie from Abigail in one hand, Elizabeth used her other hand to stealthily carry her ramekins on a large plate across town to the barely used railroad building. She dared to hope that the dessert would taste delicious.

The ramekins, circular bowls for individual servings, had been a wedding gift from one of Hamilton's society families. When she had first unwrapped the tiny bowls, Elizabeth had wondered how they would ever come in handy. Especially given Jack's seemingly insatiable hunger when he came home from long days riding in the countryside. But when she had seen them called for in the recipe, she had been elated that she owned a set.

The wooden building, which the townspeople had dubbed the "Railroad Shack", had been built to house extra railway supplies. Five-foot long metal rails. Wooden rectangular supports for those same rails. Spikes. Coal. Sacks of sand that could be deposited on the rails to improve traction, especially in wet or icy conditions. And all manner of rods, pipes, and metal boxes to keep trains moving,

Hope Valley was located almost exactly halfway between two railroad station and only 15 miles from the nearest track. It hadn't taken railway company executives a long time to realize that the town was the perfect place to store supplies in case of a train derailment, breakdown, or near catastrophe along the vast barren stretches of track through the Canadian wilderness. No longer would trains be stranded for days from available supplies.

Most importantly for Elizabeth's planned dessert was that the shack contained a blowtorch. Two of them actually. Meant for emergency locomotive repairs, she had seen no reason why one couldn't do nicely as a kitchen utensil.

Elizabeth knew immediately that the larger of the two devices would be much too powerful. The flame far too large.

But the smaller one. Meant for tight spots in the locomotive's engine or brakes would be perfect.

Or so Elizabeth thought.

* * *

 _These look kind of yummy after all_ , she thought happily as she looked at the pale colored soft custard nestled in the ramekins.

She waited for Mr. Grenent, the blacksmith who maintained the shack and did occasional jobs for the railway company for a small fee, to hand her a pair of thick protective gloves before giving her the fuel-burning tool.

 _And once I really heat up the sugar on top, they'll have a perfect hard caramel top. Just like in the cook book. And they'll taste delicious_.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth stood outside the smoldering remains of the railroad shack.

 _How the heck did that ha_ ppen?! she wondered in bewilderment as the townspeople threw water on the ashes where the building had once stood.

Any hope Elizabeth had that she could keep her involvement in the fire from Jack was dashed when she realized that his occupation as the town's lone law enforcement officer meant that he would not only be informed of the fire, but he would have to write up an official report.

As the townspeople mingled around the smoking ashes of the building, Elizabeth noticed Jack hurriedly walking in her direction with a visibly upset Mr. Grenent by his side.

Approaching the scene, Jack continued to listen as the frantic blacksmith described Elizabeth's handling of the blowtorch and the destruction of his shack.

When Jack glanced at his wife, she noticed him shake his head in a mixture of mild shock and exasperation.

 _She's the only woman I know that can burn down a railroad building when making a simple custard dessert._

 _She's the only woman I know that's even burned down a building!_ he thought as he arrived at the smoking rubble.

* * *

"Explain to me again why you needed a blowtorch to make dessert?"

Jack tried to keep his voice calm and lessen the amount of incredulity which he felt from seeping into his tone.

The couple were in the parlor of the rowhouse. Elizabeth, her hair tousled and her clothes covered in a thin dusting of soot, rung her hands together as she nervously paced the floor of their parlor.

Usually pretty good at gauging Jack's attitude, she frowned as she realized that she couldn't decide if he was relieved that she was alright, frustrated with her, or angry with her.

She hoped that perhaps he was just hungry but somehow that didn't seem realistic. Not when she had just burned down a building.

"Because the recipe called for a high intense heat to caramelize the sugar, and you want to keep the custard cool at the same time. So you can't use an oven. You have to heat just the top. I thought about using a branding iron from one of the ranchers, but that seemed a bit dangerous."

"And using a blowtorch didn't?!"

"Well at the time, it didn't!"

"Using a blowtorch in a wooden shack did not seem dangerous to you?!" an utterly baffled Jack exclaimed.

"I didn't think that Mr. Grenent would let me if there was any danger I would cause a fire!"

"You're an attractive woman asking to spend time alone with him in a shack! Of course, he'd let you do it! He would have said yes to anything you asked!"

"Don't be silly. I'm married and pregnant. Married to the town's Mountie!"

"Oh, believe me. I am well aware of that. No need to remind me", he muttered.

"Jack!" she said with wide eyes. Her pleasure that he had just described her as attractive suddenly vanished at his latest comment.

"Okay. Sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I'm just frustrated. You know I love you. But, Elizabeth, you used a blowtorch! Which you had no idea how to use! In a shack full of wooden beams!"

"How was I to know a barn owl would swoop down at me?"

"It was a barn owl! Not a tornado!"

"It still scared me!"

"So you burned down an entire building just to make me a fancy custard dessert?"

"I was making one for me too," Elizabeth replied weakly.

When Jack looked at her incredulously, she hurriedly added. "It's supposed to be delicious; according to the recipe book. It's called crème brulee", she added in her best French accent.

"That means burnt cream. BURNT cream! That should have been your first clue. When half the name is 'burnt', you, of all people, should avoid it."

"Just what is that supposed to me?!"

"Do I even need to explain?! My God, this is the second building you've burned down."

"Actually, it's my fourth", she muttered under her breath.

"Your fourth?!" Jack exclaimed with wide eyes.

"There was the time when I was twelve and I set the barn on fire during a barn dance. I told you about that one! And the teacherage when I first moved here. And well this one."

"That's three."

"Right. Don't forget about the building I burned down which caused me to become a teacher. Remember, I told you that I was motivated to become a teacher after I burned down a building, tripped over some ducks, and choked on a muffin."

"You actually never told me the whole story."

"It's kind of a long story. . . . Um. Maybe we should save that for another night. I need to wash the smoke from my hair. I can't stand the smell."

"The whole town smells like it! You burned down the railroad shack!"

Elizabeth took a deep breath before speaking calmly. "Jack, really, you shouldn't get so upset. It's not good for the baby."

"How is me getting upset not good for the baby?!" he asked with his voice rising again.

"He or she can hear you. . . . maybe. Or maybe not. But I think we've had enough excitement for the day between baby calves getting turned into veal and the fire."

"What baby calves got turned into veal?!"

"Don't worry about that. "

"What baby calves got turned into veal?!" he asked again in bewilderment.

Elizabeth decided this would be the appropriate time to change the topic rather than explain another hysterical crying spell which she had had. "Oh, by the way, I cut my finger."

"In the fire? Escaping the building? On the metal from the blowtorch?"

"Um, no Julienning."

"Julie-ing? Your sister? Why am I not surprised that she had something to do with this", he muttered.

Elizabeth giggled despite Jack's frazzled look. "Not Julie. Julienning. Julienning carrots. Cutting them into thin strips."

"Carrots?"

"Carrots."

"There are no carrots in crème brulee!"

Elizabeth looked at Jack in disgust. "Of course there aren't. Don't be silly. The carrots were for the chateaubriand."

"Let me see it."

"The chateaubriand?" Elizabeth's face registered surprise at his request to see the overcooked piece of beef.

"Your finger!" he exclaimed as he reached for her hand and began examining it. Despite his exasperation with her, his touch was tender as he looked at her fingers. "I don't see anything."

"I guess it wasn't so bad after all. I just thought I would mention it", she said meekly as she pulled back her hand. "I was trying to make the carrots look like matchsticks."

"What is it with you and matches and fires?!"

"Jack, please. Calm down. Honestly, this wasn't nearly as bad as burning down the teacherage", she said boldly.

"I'm married to a pyromaniac", Jack sighed as he put his head in his hands.

* * *

The warm water felt wonderful and relaxing.

Elizabeth sat on a chair with her back to the sink. Her head tilted back so that her long hair hung down into the porcelain basin. It reminded her of when she was a little girl and her mother would wash her hair. She and Julie would wait patiently while her mother first washed Violet's hair. And then Elizabeth would put her hair in the sink and go next. Finally, it would be Julie's turn. Then the three little girls would sit by the fire for their hair to dry.

But this was so much better.

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed as she enjoyed the feel of Jack's fingers massaging her scalp. She found herself almost thinking it had been worth it to burn down the building just to have this moment of luxurious pleasure. She loved when Jack spoiled her.

"Why did you need to make such an elaborate dessert?" Jack asked as he took the kettle from the stove, tested the water's temperature, and then poured it over Elizabeth's head. Carefully shielding her eyes as he rinsed away the bubbles.

"It was supposed to come after an elaborate dinner but I ruined dinner."

"No surprise there", Jack mumbled.

"What did you say?"

"I just asked why I needed an elaborate dinner and an elaborate dessert."

Elizbeth opened her eyes and grinned. "To celebrate Swooshy Day!"

Jack's face broke out into a small smile for the first time that evening. "So you finally figured it out. I wasn't sure how many more days I could keep tapping. My fingers were getting tired."

"Hey, it was my first time deciphering Morse Code! And swooshy is not exactly a common word", she replied in her defense.

"I'm still not sure it even is a word", he said wryly.

"It is now. Especially since you made it into a holiday. The crate? That's a present for me, isn't it? For our new holiday?"

"It is", he replied with a broader grin.

"I love presents!"

Jack placed a towel on her hair and moved from her side to the front of her. He straddled the chair in which Elizabeth was sitting. Before she was quite knew what he was doing, he had moved her dress over her thighs, lifted her hips, and positioned himself so that he was now sitting on the seat of the chair which she occupied.

"I think we should celebrate first. Then the present."

He moved her again and inched forward so that she sat on his lap, her leg straddling him as they faced each other.

"Mr. Thornton, is this any way to act on National Swooshy Day? Because your Morse Code did not say anything about this."

Jack ignored her teasing and instead concentrated on moving his mouth along her neck.

"This is exactly how we celebrate National Swooshy Day", he said in a low serious voice.

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side, enjoying his warm lips as they continued moving on her.

"How many Swooshy Days are there?" she asked somewhat breathlessly.

"I haven't decided yet. But I guarantee you that it will be celebrated more than once a year."

* * *

Hours later, as the sleeping couple lay snuggled under the bed covers, Jack's gift with its intricate stained glass shade stood on the dresser. The lamp's electrical cord dangled down the side of the of dresser. The plug hanging two feet from the floor.

If the wall had an outlet, it likely would have been near the dresser. But a house without electricity doesn't have the need for an outlet.

Or an electric lamp.

Earlier that night, after their celebration and before falling asleep, they had quickly eaten chicken pot pie for dinner and then Jack had gone to the jailhouse and brought back the mysterious crate.

When Elizabeth had moved the crate's straw away from the lamp and seen the colorful panels of the expensive glass shade, the beautiful water lilies designed by Louis Comfort Tiffany, she had smiled broadly. It was even more beautiful than the one in his family's library in Hamilton. The one she had stood next to when they were still new to courting and he had kissed her and made her feel something special.

Jack had bought her a lamp. To remind her of that moment.

She didn't even consider that the lamp would be useless in a house without electricity. She was too busy feeling swooshy.

Especially when Jack had quietly whispered that she was still more captivating than any character in a book.

 **Up next: Chapter 52.**


	52. Chapter 52 - Deliveries

**Chapter 52 - Deliveries**

Jack arrived at the bottom of the schoolhouse staircase five minutes before two o'clock, and waited patiently for the end-of-school bell to ring. Between his teeth, he held a long piece of pale-colored straw, taken from his horse's stall, and chewed on it casually.

As Elizabeth rang the bell signifying the end of the school day, Jack moved off to the sides of the wooden steps, anticipating the rush of boys and girls hurrying out of the building. When the last of the children had clamored past him, he sprinted up the steps and through the open double doors.

"Hey, beautiful. How was your day?"

Despite being happy to see Jack, Elizabeth scowled at his question as she gathered her belongings.

"Mrs. Hazelton insisted on checking the pot-belly stove to make sure that it was already full of wood so I wouldn't need to touch it in any way. She instructed me to stay away from all flames. And then, during essay writing time, I caught Patrick making a large "Exit" sign. He wanted to put it above the door so that it could easily be seen. In case of a fire. An exit from a one-room schoolhouse! As if the students wouldn't be able to find the door! Or a window!"

"So, they're still teasing you about the railroad shack fire?"

"They're never going to let me forget it!"

"This probably won't make you feel any better", Jack said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope. "Some of the men gave it to me earlier. I didn't have a chance to look inside until I was on my way here. I'll return it tomorrow."

"What is it?"

Elizabeth pulled open the flap of the envelope and looked inside at the bills of money. She gave Jack a stunned look.

"What is it for?!"

"Some of the townspeople took up a donation. I think it's to pay for our meals. They said they'd prefer that we ate at Abigail's Café or the Saloon in the future. I don't think they want you doing any more cooking. . . .

. . . Apparently two buildings is the limit for burning things down in this town," he added with a smile as he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Well, I suppose that I'll just have to come up with another hobby", she said wryly.

* * *

The crate from Hamilton arrived Wednesday morning but Jack waited until school was over for the day and Elizabeth was with him before opening it. Assuming it was something for the baby, he had walked to the school house and then the two of them had returned to the jailhouse where the heavy wooden crate, emblazoned with the "J & T Crate Co.", sat on the floor.

"What do you think it is?" Elizabeth asked eagerly as Jack used a screwdriver to pry off the lid and then moved the flat piece of wood to the floor.

He picked up the envelope which lay on top of the straw which padded the contents and pulled out the pages inside.

As he started to read silently, Elizabeth began rummaging through the crate.

"Jack, what are these? What is this stuff for?"

"Bowling", he said with surprised amusement as he put away the letter and looked inside the crate.

"Bowling? We don't bowl."

"I have. It's actually kind of fun. The country club has three lanes."

"But Hope Valley doesn't have a bowling alley. I've never even been to one."

"According to Tom, he thought it was time Hope Valley had a little more excitement and night life. He was bowling a few weeks back and thought of us in the _sleepy little town_ as he put it."

"But bowling lanes?"

Jack chuckled. "You did just tell me that you needed a hobby. I guess we just got one."

The crate contained 30 wooden pins, six bowling balls, written instructions on how long and wide the lanes should be built, and a container of oil for ensuring a smooth wooden surface. Jack smiled as he looked through the contents and thought of the times he and the other elite of Hamilton had bowled at the country club.

* * *

Hours later, Elizabeth turned a page in the thick medical book and cringed at the paragraph she had read. Pushing the book across the table away from her, she stared at it for a moment and then looked down.

Jack, who was drafting plans to add three bowling lanes to the side of the Saloon, looked up just as Elizabeth put her hand on her swollen belly and rubbed it tenderly through her thick winter dress.

"What's up?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"This baby. I was reading a chapter on labor. Just gearing up and making sure I'm prepared."

"You'll be fine. We'll have a doctor or midwife to help you and answer any questions."

Elizabeth stood up and walked into the kitchen with her empty cup of tea. Calling out to Jack, she continued their conversation.

"Maybe. But we can't guarantee it. The doctor splits his time between Hope Valley and Union City. Susan Leslering is the only midwife in town and she lives four miles away."

Elizabeth filled her tea cup with more water from the kettle, and placed her used teabag from earlier into it.

"I'll still be here. Even if the doctor and Susan aren't around. I can deliver the baby."

"Oh, no you won't. You are not going to be anywhere near me when I deliver this baby", she said emphatically as she leaned casually against the door frame.

Jack looked startled. "Of course, I am. I mean if the doctor or midwife is here, I'll wait outside. But if they can't get here in time, I'll deliver the baby."

"You are not. You know nothing about delivering a baby."

"I had training at the academy."

"You had a five-minute class. The baby knows more about childbirth at this point than you do."

"That's not true!"

"Jack, have you ever seen anything give birth? Anything at all?"

"Well, no. But I'm your husband. I should be there if you need me."

"You've never even seen a chicken deliver an egg. I've seen goats give birth. Sows give birth. And even a mare give birth. It is not a pretty sight. You are not seeing me give birth."

"I'm not saying that I'm looking forward to it. But it's not like I haven't seen your . . . .anatomy . . . before."

""You've never seen it like that before. I intend for you to continue to see me as your attractive wife. I am not about to let you see me looking a dreadful mess."

"I'm sure it's not that bad."

"Let's see. Blood. Mucus. Grunts. Screams. Do I need to go on?"

Jack cringed slightly before speaking confidently. "I've seen blood and heard screams before."

"Ah, yes. When your buddy Sergeant Mason was shot and you watched the doctor take the bullet out of him."

"That's right", he said proudly.

Elizabeth stood across from him with her arms crossed. A patronizing look on her face.

"Do you remember telling me how much he gritted his teeth in pain and how you yourself winced when you saw the doctor take out the bullet from his stomach? All the blood?"

"Well, yeah. But Elizabeth, it was a Smith and Wesson Model Three revolver with a forty-four-caliber bullet. That's a big bullet."

Elizabeth uncrossed her arms and with one hand casually circled in the air around her belly.

"Jack, just how big do you think this baby is? Because I'm not sure if you understand this whole child-making thing. But let's be clear, our baby is going to be a whole lot bigger than a bullet."

* * *

Two days later, Jack had convinced the local townspeople that their earlier donations, which really amounted to a bribe to keep Elizabeth away from anything flammable, would be well spent on building the bowling lanes. In exchange, he promised to keep a watchful eye on Elizabeth's cooking. And he had volunteered to match the amount of the donations with his own money.

The money part was the least of Jack's worries.

Elizabeth opened a window in the front room to clear out some of the smoke from her latest attempt at cooking.

"If you paid attention to the food instead of that mystery book you've been reading, the stuff wouldn't burn", he suggested pleasantly.

As she hurried back to the kitchen, a gust of wind picked up sheets of paper from the nearby desk floating them into the air before distributing them across the floor.

Jack crossed the room and waved away some smoke before moving to pick up the papers. As he squatted down and gathered up the last of the scattered sheets, he noticed that while most were parts of a story, one sheet of paper was a list.

A numbered list of names.

Names of townspeople.

He stood up, carrying the sheets of paper to the desk while his eyes continued to scan the page.

 _What is this?_

"Elizabeth, what is this?"

"What is what?" she called from the kitchen.

Jack frowned as he continued to look at the list and walked into the kitchen.

Standing in the doorway, he waved away some more smoke before answering.

"This list of names. Number one is the doctor. Number two is Susan Leslering. Abigail is number three. You've got twenty-three names listed here."

"That's my list of people to help me during delivery. Obviously, I want the doctor first, but if he can't be here, I want the midwife. And if she can't be here, I want Abigail. And so on and so on."

"I'm not on here."

"No, you're not", she agreed readily.

"Why aren't I on here?"

"Why would you be on it?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

"I guess you're right. I'm not on the list because you expect me to be here with you anyway. Right?"

"Don't be silly. You're not the list because you're going to be getting the person for me. And then you're going to be at the Saloon or the jail or the front porch. Your choice. I already told you that you are not going to be seeing me deliver."

Jack continued to scan the list. "Clint Blackthorn! Clint Blackthorn! Your childhood friend who is still half in love with you is number eight! And I'm not even on the list!"

"He was a bit upset that he wasn't higher on the list."

"Why is he even _on_ the list?!"

"Because he can help me if I'm in trouble. If the delivery isn't going as expected."

"He's a rodeo clown!"

Elizabeth laughed. "He is not a rodeo clown. At least not usually. He was a rodeo trick rider. And more importantly than that, he worked on a cattle ranch for years. He has helped countless cows and horses deliver."

"You are not a horse or a cow. You are my wife! I should be the one there for you if something goes wrong."

"Well thank you for noticing that I'm not a cow or a horse. Maybe you're better at this anatomy thing that I thought."

"You know what I mean."

"Jack, while you were playing polo, and socializing at the country club, and bowling, Clint was ranching. Helping deliver calves and foals. He knows about deliveries. About umbilical cords and the afterbirth."

"Afterbirth?"

"Placenta."

Jack gave a disgusted shudder.

"He knows what to do if an animal is turned around. How to reach up inside and turn it for a safe delivery", Elizabeth continued as she held a frying pan in one hand and used the other hand to scrape burnt potatoes into the garbage.

Jack shuddered again and cringed when Elizabeth mentioned Clint reaching up into a body and helping with deliver.

"I don't care what that man knows, he is not touching you." Jack's voice was firm. "He is not turning anything. He is not looking at your . . . . anatomy."

"Fine, I'll move him down to number nine. But he won't be happy. And that means that Janice will be number eight. And the only thing she's ever delivered by herself is the mail."

* * *

Elizabeth always wanted a filly. A young female horse. The next day, as she thumbed through the pages of Jack's saddle and tack catalog, she longingly eyed the drawings and photographs.

"Jack, can we get a foal?"

Jack, sitting across the table from Elizabeth, had taken apart his rifle and was cleaning and oiling the various parts with a clean rag.

Looking up from the barrel of the rifle, he stopped wiping and questioned her.

"A foal? For what?"

"When I was growing up I always wanted a horse."

"I thought you had a horse."

"Just a nag."

"A nag?"

"You know, an old horse, or one that's not in great shape."

"Never heard that term used to describe a horse before", Jack noted as he went back to wiping the parts of his weapon.

"That's because you grew up rich", she teased him. "I'm sure all your horses were thoroughbreds. Tall and strong with glossy coats. Perfect breeding. The best grooming."

"So, what do you want a foal for?"

"We have the money. We're building a stall for our cow. We can just as easily build another one for a horse. I'd love a filly. They're so adorable. Our baby could grow up learning to ride on his or her own horse. Melly Parsons was telling me that one of their horses is pregnant."

As Elizabeth continued talking about Melly Parsons, who also happened to be pregnant herself, Jack's thoughts blocked out the sound of Elizabeth's voice.

 _A pregnant horse_ , he thoughtfully repeated to himself.

* * *

Jack felt confident in his ability to deliver his child. Things had always come easily to him. He was an excellent shot with a weapon, spoke French as well as a native speaker, excelled at polo and riding, and had once won top prize in his 9th grade Latin class. Not to mention, he was good looking and had always had more than his fair share of female admirers.

Yes, things had always come easily to him, he realized with a smile as he walked down the street towards the Saloon.

The more he thought about it the more he realized that the most challenging thing he had ever faced wasn't leaving home or becoming a Mountie. It was Elizabeth.

 _Dear God, I wonder if our child will be as challenging as her!_ he thought with a sudden worried frown as he entered the Saloon.

* * *

"Your missus moved me down to number nine on her list", Clint set down his beer bottle and remarked matter-of-factly as Jack stood next to him at the bar.

"I'll buy you another drink to make up for it."

Jack motioned to Tom, the bartender, who responded by placing beer bottles in front of both men who were on the other side of his long counter. The two stood next to each other but avoided any friendly eye contact.

"Clint, you know you're not always my favorite person."

"Feeling's mutual."

"So, I find myself in a strange position of asking for your help."

Clint took a long sip of beer before turning to look at Jack.

* * *

When Elizabeth walked into the kitchen the next day Jack had two eggs in one hand. Manipulating them around in the palm of his hand with his fingers.

"Good morning"

"Morning, sweetie. I was just looking at these eggs. You know, I can easily carry two in one hand."

"That's nice. But I'd prefer if they were in a frying pan."

"I'm getting there", Jack said as he cracked them into the pan and threw the shells in the trash. "I'm just thinking that baby chicks fit inside these eggs and I can carry two in one hand. Easily. Without dropping one."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, Jack. But an egg is not a baby. We are not having two of them. And juggling two eggs in your hand does not make you qualified to deliver my baby."

"It's my baby too", he reminded her pleasantly as he picked up two pieces of bread and began buttering them. "Can you pour the juice? And I am going to be quite capable of delivering him or her. Just you wait and see."

* * *

Elizabeth had to admit that the idea of bowling was starting to intrigue her. In the days since the crate had arrived, the schoolchildren and most of the townspeople had been eagerly anticipating the construction of the lanes.

Jack had thrown himself into the planning and had already ordered the wood for the narrow addition to the Saloon, as well as polished strips for the lanes.

"Elizabeth, do you think I fit into Hope Valley?"

The two were in the front parlor after a dinner of roasted chicken and potatoes. Elizabeth, sitting on the couch, set down the book she was reading and looked at Jack, who was holding one of the bowling balls which he had brought from the jailhouse.

"What do you mean?"

"Some of the men – Ted Parsons and Mike Strand – made some comments. They were mostly teasing, but I wonder if it's true."

"What'd they say?"

"That bowling is a gentlemen's sport. Only the rich have the time and opportunity for such a leisurely activity. Only big cities have bowling alleys. Ted said that the closest he'd ever get to a bowling alley in the city would be if he was hired to be the man who stands the pins back up after they're knocked down."

Elizabeth shrugged. "He's right. You played at the country club. People that live in the city are either the rich or the working class. And the working class doesn't have a lot of time or money to spend on bowling."

"Well, I'm going to change that. Everyone here in Hope Valley is going to play."

"You're going to have to teach us. Because I'm guaranteeing that nobody here has every played before."

Jack carried the bowling ball over to Elizabeth. "Stand up. I'll give you your first lesson."

"Here? In the house?"

"Sure. I'll just show you the proper stance and how to swing it."

"Keep your knees slightly bent as you approach the foul line," Jack instructed after he had handed Elizabeth the ball. He kept his arms around her body as he guided her forward.

"Lean forward about ten to fifteen degrees."

"You're wearing after-shave", she noted pleasantly.

"Yeah. Now align your shoulders over your knees."

"I like it."

"Keep the ball in your hand immediately in front of your bowling shoulder and as close to your body as is comfortable."

"You smell really good."

"Elizabeth, pay attention!"

"I am", she said confidently as Jack kept his arms around her and guided her towards the imaginary bowling pins.

"Eye the pins in front of you and then swing your arm back gently."

"It's been awhile since we've been together."

"Stop talking and concentrate on your aim. We were together last night."

"Were we? Oh, yes, we were. Quite nice", she noted with a smile.

"Elizabeth, keep your posture. You're leaning into me."

"Am I?" she asked innocently.

"Your other hand should hang loosely", he instructed her.

"Okay."

"Why is it touching me?"

"Is it? Sorry about that."

"You're not paying attention to bowling at all, are you?"

"I have another hobby I'd like to try right now," she replied as she ran her mouth along his neck.

* * *

"What's going on?" Elizabeth asked inquisitively when she walked into the kitchen the next morning and saw Jack standing in front of the potato bin.

Jack stared at the potato cradled in his hand and smiled slightly.

"Just thinking about our baby. Holding him or her in my hands."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in a slightly condescending manner before giving a small sigh.

"Jack, let's be clear about something. Because I'm sensing that you may not be comprehending the situation. This is a little human inside of here. A human. Not an ant. Or an egg. Or a potato. Or anything else that weighs barely anything."

A chastised Jack put the potato back into the bin as Elizabeth walked out of the kitchen. She returned a moment later holding her bowling ball.

"Hold out your hands", she ordered.

When Jack obediently complied with her instruction, she dropped the ball in his outstretched palms. The weight caused his hands to drop several inches as he grabbed ahold of it to keep it from hitting the floor.

"That's the weight of what's coming out of me", she said curtly as she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

The sunlight shining in the Café windows and landing on the patrons sitting near the glass panes was deceptive. It was so bright and warm that anyone inside would think that it was summer despite the crisp cold temperature of the season.

Elizabeth and some other women were enjoying a cup of tea with muffins when Jack walked in. He quickly closed the door behind him to keep out the wind, and then headed towards the kitchen to get a mug of coffee.

Stopping by the ladies table, he greeted them briefly. When the other women resumed their conversation, he gave Elizabeth a wink because he knew she couldn't help but grin at him when he did. Sure enough, she blushed slightly and looked down into her tea cup with a smile on her face.

Three minutes later, with a mug of steaming coffee in his hands, he walked by their table again, picking up bits of their conversation.

* * *

Jack finished some paperwork at the jailhouse and then began riding towards the Parsons farm. After his talks with Clint, Jack wasn't sure if he was more confident or more nervous. Especially when he remembered that Ted Parsons tended to think that Jack was a bit too sophisticated and wealthy for a small town like Hope Valley.

Seeing the farmer heading towards the barn, Jack quickly dismounted from his own horse and called out to the other man.

Ted stopped walking and wrung his hands nervously together as he turned to greet Jack.

"Hey Ted, I heard your old nag is going to give birth. Mind if I watch."

* * *

A scowling Jack touched his hand to his sore jaw as he walked in the front door of his row house thirty minutes later. _That was a disaster!_

"Jack, what happened?" Elizabeth questioned as she came down the staircase carrying a small stack of schoolbooks.

"I offered to help Mr. Parsons with his delivery."

Elizabeth's eyes grew wide in horror.

"Of his wife's baby?!"

"I thought we were talking about a horse!" an embarrassed Jack exclaimed.

"His mare's not due for another month! His wife is in labor today!"

"I know that now! But I overhead you and the ladies saying that labor had started over at the Parson's farm! I thought you meant his horse!"

"What happened?"

"I said I heard that his nag was pregnant and ready to deliver", Jack muttered as he sat down and began taking off his boots.

"A nag? You called his pregnant wife who was in labor a nag?!"

"I was talking about a horse! You said that's what a female horse is called in the country!"

Elizabeth shook her head in bewilderment. "I assume you explained that to him."

"Not until I told him that I'd be happy to wash her belly and upper legs with soapy water."

"Oh, my God, you didn't?!"

"I did. And then, after he punched me again, I told him that I had just wanted to help because I noticed her teats were getting big."

"Her teats? Then he must have known you were talking about his horse."

"Nope. He had already punched me once in the mouth so I was talking a little strange. It came out that I noticed her tits were getting big."

Elizabeth slumped down into a chair.

"I'm afraid to ask what happened next."

"I said I didn't care about good breeding."

Elizabeth smacked her hand to her head. "Please tell me he knew you were talking about a horse at this point."

"Apparently not. Because he got very red in the face."

"I figured maybe he was upset because he thought that I was being presumptuous so I said that you had always wanted a girl and I'd like to buy his if he had one. That's when he threatened to shoot me."

* * *

Elizabeth pulled back the covers of the bed with one hand and crawled in next to Jack, who was propped up against the pillow, with a piece of ice wrapped in a washcloth held to his jaw. She had made soup for dinner, knowing it would be easy for him to eat with his bruised jaw. Unfortunately, his ego was still bruised.

"This is all Clint's fault. He's the one that was telling me how to deliver an animal. To watch it carefully to sense a change in attitude and body. To wash its body to avoid infection. He's the one that was bragging to me about how many foals he's helped deliver", Jack grumbled.

"You're the one who asked him for advice on birthing. You could have gone to the doctor or midwife."

"I couldn't talk to the midwife about that stuff. It's . . . personal. It'd be too weird talking to a woman about it."

"Right. Because what would a woman know about childbirth", Elizabeth replied.

Jack ignored her sarcasm. "And the doctor's out of town this week. And besides, I . . I want to be better than Clint. You're _my_ wife."

Elizabeth handed a pouting Jack the large hard-covered child birthing book she was holding.

"Start reading", she said with a smile as she leaned over and gave him a sweet kiss. "We're getting close to the due date. I suppose I can add you to the list."

His eyes lit up with excitement.

"I want to be number four. After the doctor, the midwife, and Abigail."

"Don't push it."

 **Up next: Chapter 53**

* * *

 **Dear Readers, Recently, another writer, LisaHoops10, wrote a powerful statement about writers on this website. I wholeheartedly agree with her. It is disheartening to write and publish a chapter only to have another writer copy certain scenes or dialogue and use them in their own story and take credit for the idea. We all enjoy the TV show When Calls the Heart and it is obvious that we have borrowed certain ideas from the show. But many of us writers have taken the ideas from the show into new and unique areas. When writers take something from another writer, it would be wonderful for them to ask permission, or at least credit the other writer with giving them the idea. There are so many wonderful people who enjoy writing Elizabeth and Jack stories and there are so many possible ideas that there's no reason that each story cannot be unique. I look forward to reading some amazing different stories.**


	53. Chapter 53 - The Cheating Bibliophile 1

**Chapter 53 - The Cheating Bibliophile Part 1**

The weather became warmer as the weeks moved on; the seasons changing. The nights were still cool, but the days, sunny and cloudless, were less frigid than they had been. Clear signs of a winter coming to its gradual end.

When Elizabeth told Jack that the frogs were thawing and had starting croaking again, he had no idea what she was talking about.

And when she had explained that frogs allowed themselves to freeze over winter – their blood turning into ice and their hearts stopped beating – he hadn't believed her.

"I'm not falling for it, Elizabeth. They do not freeze."

"They do too! I've seen it happen and I read about it in a science book!"

It wasn't until Elizabeth had spent her appointment with the doctor having him explain the hibernation of frogs to Jack rather than discuss her pregnancy, that Jack finally agreed that he had learned something new; frogs can freeze like chunks of ice in the winter, and thaw themselves out it the spring.

"Is there anything you don't know?" he asked as they walked home.

Elizabeth smiled. "I don't know how anyone cannot love reading books. You know some of students hate to read? I love to read."

"My little bibliophile, did you by any chance iron my shirts or were you too busy reading?"

 _Drat!_ she thought with a frown as she remembered the pile of shirts in the basket by the couch.

* * *

Jack pulled back the covers and crawled into bed next to Elizabeth. She was propped up against her pillows, her eyes focusing on the book which was resting upright on her lap. He could tell by the title and Elizabeth's blushing cheeks that this was another romance novel sent by her sister, Julie.

"I wish you'd stop reading those."

"Mmmhmm"

Jack fluffed his pillow and then lay down. Stretching his legs under the covers. "Did you even hear what I said?"

Elizabeth looked up from the pages of the book. "What did you say?"

"I wish you'd stop reading those."

"Why?"

"Because they fill your head with crazy romantic ideas that are unrealistic and which I'll never be able to live up to."

Elizabeth closed the book and smiled as she reached over and set it on her nightstand. "Don't worry. You far exceed them."

The corners of Jack's mouth turned up in a grin as Elizabeth scooched across the mattress and lay on her side; her pregnant belly facing away from him, her back against his side. He placed a gentle kiss on her head. He would have liked to kiss her some more - and do some other things - but she didn't seem interested. But still, he smiled; he loved being married.

It had been another wonderful day. The past few weeks had been calm and easy. Not only had work been going well but everything with Elizabeth had been going well. No misunderstandings. No disagreements. No leaking roofs. No burned down buildings.

Life was perfect.

* * *

As the morning sun shone in the kitchen window, Elizabeth scurried around. She used a metal spatula to flip the pancakes in the skillet, and then quickly moved to the icebox. Pulling out a block of cheese, she set in on the counter and reached for a knife.

"Careful with that", Jack cautioned as he entered the kitchen. Noticing the pancakes beginning to burn, he swiftly used the spatula himself to move them to a plate.

"Thanks", Elizabeth said over her shoulder. I'm just getting lunches and some snacks packed for your trip."

As Jack moved the plate to the table, he looked curiously at the oven door which was an inch ajar. "What's in the oven?"

"A book. I spilled coffee on the pages so I've got it in there drying out."

Jack shook his head in amusement. "Reading again while making breakfast?"

"It was that romance novel. I finished it. Although the last three pages were soggy and hard to read. So, I'm actually not sure if the main character ended up with the bartender or the banker. Or maybe it was the barber. At least it wasn't the sheep-herder with the wooden leg and bad teeth."

Jack chuckled. "No more reading romance novels while I'm gone. I don't want to come home all dirty and tired and have to pretend to be your long-lost lover returning from war or a sea journey when I'll really be stinking and wanting a soft bed to collapse in."

"You know I love to read."

"I know, but you need your sleep. You'll have the place to yourself for three nights so try to get plenty of rest while I'm gone."

* * *

Elizabeth knew she shouldn't have read it. But she couldn't help herself.

She couldn't deny that she had three obsessions: Jack. Teaching. And books.

This was Elizabeth's third night of reading from one of the heavy brown-covered books which she had asked Mr. Yost to order for her. It had taken several weeks and she had forgotten about them when suddenly, on the same day Jack had left town, the package had finally arrived in the mail. The timing couldn't have been more perfect. With Jack gone, she hadn't bothered cooking or ironing clothes or even straightening the house.

She had immersed herself in the books.

 ** _Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,_**

 ** _Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—_**

 ** _While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,_**

 ** _As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door._**

 **"' _Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door—_**

Elizabeth looked up from the pages of the book and glanced nervously around the room before continuing with the poem.

. . . . **_Back into the chamber turning, all my soul within me burning,_**

 ** _Soon again I heard a tapping somewhat louder than before._**

 **" _Surely," said I, "surely that is something at my window lattice;_**

 ** _Let me see, then, what thereat is, and this mystery explore—_**

 ** _Let my heart be still a moment and this mystery explore;—_**

 **' _Tis the wind and nothing more!"_**

 **. . . .**

Two minutes later when she finished reading the entire poem, she felt unsettled. Every one of her senses was on alert.

For the umpteenth time in the last three days, Elizabeth wished Jack wasn't out of town. _Jack, why aren't you here?_ she whined in her mind.

She put the book on her nightstand and then almost immediately changed her mind. Climbing out of bed, she hurriedly crossed the room and shoved the volume in a dresser drawer where it couldn't affect her any more. As if hiding the book would make her forget the words she had read.

Shivering despite the warmth of the room, she rushed back to the double bed which looked cold and lonely without Jack.

The room plunged into darkness as Elizabeth turned the lantern's handle and extinguished the flame inside the glass cylinder. She pulled the covers up to her chin and thought about relighting the lantern but decided that she would just have to be brave enough without it.

A few seconds later, she wretched the covers up over her head.

 _Stupid Stupid poems! Stupid Edgar Allan Poe._

Elizabeth was huddled under the thick covers when she heard it.

The tapping.

On her window.

Like a raven pecking its beak against the glass.

"Rip. Here", she ordered quietly when she heard him whine from across the room. Elizabeth lifted her head barely out from under the covers and called for the dog again.

Rip hesitated a moment before jumping up. His short legs had to work hard and his front paws scrambled to hold on to the sheets as he clung to the bed. Elizbeth reached out her hand and heaved the dog onto the mattress.

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Elizabeth's body tensed in fear as she heard the noise at the window.

 _It's just a branch_ , she told herself. _That's all._

 _Just ignore it and it will go away._

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Unlike the playful tapping Jack had done while sending Elizabeth a message in Morse Code, this noise seemed sinister to her. Like a large black bird rapping its sharp peak on the thin glass.

Elizabeth curled her body into a fetal position and then smooshed it against her fat lazy dog. Rip didn't care that Elizabeth was frightened from reading the works of Edgar Allen Poe. Or from the odd tapping on the window. He was a useless guard dog as he was too busy enjoying the privilege of being allowed in the human bed.

 _It's just a noise. There's nothing there. Stop being a scaredy-cat. I've never even seen a raven in Hope Valley._

 _There's nothing there!_ her mind screamed as she tried to convince herself.

She considered climbing out of bed and quickly making her way back to the dresser where a pistol lay nestled among her thick socks and embroidered handkerchiefs.

But she was too afraid to get it.

So she lay huddled under the covers. Praying for the tapping to stop and morning to come.

* * *

Jack grew tired of standing in the dark and tossing pebbles against the window.

He had hoped that Elizabeth was still awake and would let him inside but he now realized that she must have fallen asleep already.

He knew that his house key was useless. Elizabeth would have put a bar across the front door.

Jack didn't regret that he had made her promise to lock and bar the door whenever he was gone overnight. What he regretted was that he hadn't let her know he was coming home a day early.

Shivering in the cool air, he pulled his collar up against the wind, and then made his way towards the jailhouse.

He sighed in disappointment. He would have liked to have snuggled in a warm bed with Elizabeth in his arms. Instead, he'd be sleeping alone on the jailhouse cot.

* * *

Elizabeth apologized the next day for Jack having to sleep at the jailhouse but she was too embarrassed to admit that she had been awake, shivering from fear under the covers when he was throwing pebbles against the widow. Instead, she allowed him to think that she had been in a deep sleep, dreaming of tropical islands, big cities, and baby calves.

"Are you sure you slept okay? You seem kind of tired."

"Umm. Yeah. Just the pregnancy I guess. And lots of schoolwork."

* * *

During the ensuing week, Jack and Elizabeth saw little of each other in their spare time. Elizabeth, in anticipation of her due date, kept busy at school, working late and visiting students' homes to speak to their parents about future assignments. Before the couple knew it, it was time for Jack to leave again.

"But you just got back", Elizabeth grumbled as she handed Jack two pairs of clean socks, which he shoved into his satchel.

"I've been back a week", he reminded her with a grin. "It's just a night this time. I'll be back tomorrow or the next day at the latest. You just take care of yourself and the baby."

"We'll be fine."

"Just three weeks to go. Drink your milk. Stay out of trouble. No stress. And get plenty of sleep", he told her as he closed up his satchel and leaned in for a kiss.

"Jack, I'm not another Mountie you can boss around."

"You're my wife and the love of my life. Last time I came back, you were exhausted. Like you hadn't sleep in days. So, do as I say. Otherwise I'll worry about you nonstop. And what good would I be as a Mountie if I couldn't stop thinking about my wonderful pregnant wife?"

"You'd be a terrible Mountie. But a wonderful husband", she replied softly as she reached her hand to the back of his neck, holding him close. Her lips lingered on his as she kissed him tenderly.

* * *

Two days later when Jack returned home, he found Elizabeth more tired than usual. With one look around their small house, he knew that it wasn't housework that was making her tired. While the place wasn't a mess, it wasn't the neat home she usually maintained.

He picked up a skein of yarn from the couch and tossed it into the basket on the floor, returned a magazine to the stack on her desk, took the trash outside, and moved her woolen slippers from the parlor floor to the bedroom.

As they washed and dried the stack of dishes in the sink, he paused and looked at her. Her eyes looked bleary – as if she hadn't gotten more than a few hours of sleep a night. Her shoulders were slumped as if it took too much energy to stand more erect. Yet her mood was up-beat. As if she had enjoyed herself while Jack had been away.

"Did you sleep okay while I was gone?"

"Yeah. It was fine. I missed you but I slept fine."

"Are you sure you didn't stay up working late? Because you look really tired."

"I'm fine, sweetie." In truth, she hadn't slept more than a few hours at a time while Jack was gone. But she knew he would be upset if she told him the truth; that she had been reading horror stories into the night and frightened herself too much too sleep. She had a feeling that he'd chastise her for not taking better care of herself.

Jack dropped the subject. He couldn't put his finger on what specifically bothered him, but he had the distinct impression that Elizabeth was hiding something. There was some reason she was staying up late at night. Whatever it was, she didn't want Jack to know.

* * *

The next day, Jack sauntered in the back door of Abigail's place for a quick cup of coffee. He had just filled his cup with the strong liquid caffeine when he heard his wife's voice from the other room.

" . . . .I can't keep this up. I can't think of anything else and I'm sure Jack's wondering why I'm so tired."

"You're exhausted, Elizabeth. Jack honestly has no idea?"

Jack, stirring some cream into his cup, recognized Abigail's voice as she asked Elizabeth the question.

"Definitely not. He got jealous when I was reading romance novels. And I promised him that I'd get lots of sleep while he was gone. Can you imagine if he knew about this?"

"You feel awful the morning after so why do you keep doing it?"

"Because he makes me feel all nervous inside! Gosh, he's intriguing."

"What do you know about him?"

"He was widowed early on. He had married his cousin when she was only thirteen and he was twenty-seven."

"That's disgusting."

"I know. But there's just something about him. Especially after he became a widower. Like a magnet attracting me to him."

"If you want my advice, you need to stop."

"I can't! He just pulls me in!"

"I thought he scares you."

"He does sometimes. But I can't turn away. He's soooo good! Monday night when I was in bed, his heart was right there next to me. Beating in my bed!

 _Monday night? I wasn't here Monday night!_

 _Who was next to her in bed?!_

The rest of the conversation was lost as customers came into the Cafe, and Jack sneaked out the back door.

* * *

"Tim, I think she's cheating on me."

Tim let out a loud laugh and shook his head in amusement.

"That woman is never cheating on you. She loves you."

The two men were sitting on the front porch of the jailhouse. Tim, a decade older than Jack and a widower for several years, had been lucky to have had his own wonderful marriage before his beloved wife, a wealthy socialite whose baking unfortunately resembled Elizbeth's, had passed.

The Pinkerton detective was used to comparing his past marriage to the Thorntons. He had learned much about their relationship beginning from the day when Elizabeth had made him a poultice, to when he helped Jack and Bill save her from the Tolliver gang, to when he had successfully bid on her awful cake at the cake auction. He had taught her how to dance so she wouldn't be embarrassed in Hamilton; in return she had made him a beautiful quilt of his late wife's expensive gowns. Tim had even attending the couple's wedding. He had to admit that the young Mountie and school teacher's marriage was a whole lot more interesting than his had ever been.

While Tim was enjoying the peacefulness of the late morning, Jack was nervously wondering what was going on with his marriage.

"I know she loves me and I know she would never cheat on me. But. . . I think she's cheating on me!"

"What incredible Mountie skills led to this conclusion?"

"She's . . .been really tired. I know she's up to something while I'm gone. Something's keeping her up at nights. I've been gone a lot lately. . . .And maybe when I am here . . .maybe I've been ignoring her too much. I've heard men talk. Other Mounties. Wondering how it is to be married. They say that if my wife isn't getting . . _it_. . .from me because I'm out of town, she's getting it from someone else."

Tim let out another loud laugh. "She's not getting _it_ from anyone else."

"Maybe she is", Jack said forlornly. "She's seemed kind of . . well. . . not that interested in me the last few weeks. Even though she was reading all these romance novels."

"She's pregnant. And let's admit it, she's probably carrying an extra thirty pounds on her stomach. That's got to make a woman tired."

"I would agree with you except - ."

"Except what?"

Jack hung his head down as he spoke. "She's getting it from someone else. In _our bed_. Someone who pulls her in like a magnet."

* * *

Jack nervously walked in the door of the row house. His palms felt sweaty as he took off his hat and hung it on the hook by the door.

"I'm home", he called out as he took off his jacket. He hung it up next to his hat.

He swore he could hear his heart pumping as he waited for a response from Elizabeth. _I'm just going to ask her about it. Figure out what is going on_.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Hi, sweetie", she greeted him from the kitchen doorway before turning away. "Come join me. I'm just about to get some pie to snack on", she called out over her shoulder.

"We need to talk."

"About what?"

"About why you've . . . been tired during the day. About why you haven't been sleeping at night. About what you've been doing while I've been away." Jack's voice was hesitant. He tried to keep himself calm but he felt his pulse begin to race.

Jack's first thought was that Elizabeth looked guilty.

But not as guilty as she should have looked. If she was cheating on him, she should have looked a whole lot guiltier, he reasoned. At least he hoped she would. In fact, she acted like she had merely overcooked another meal rather than committed adultery.

"I'm sorry", she said simply.

"So, it's true?"

Elizabeth nodded as she opened up the icebox and took out the lemonade pitcher. "Lemonade?"

Jack just stared at her.

Elizabeth turned and met his gaze. She paused for a moment and then took a glass from the cabinet. "Did Abigail tell you?"

Jack shook his head. His voice was sad and defeated when he finally spoke. "I figured it out on my own. I just want to know why?"

"I can't sleep alone anymore. Not since we got married. You were out of town."

"So, this is my fault?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "I was bored and all alone."

"What's wrong with being alone?! I'm alone those nights too!"

"I need something to help me fall asleep."

"So, you turned to him? Why not read a stupid romance book?"

"You told me to stop reading those", Elizabeth reminded him as she continued to hold out the glass of lemonade which Jack was refusing to accept.

Finally, she just set it down on the kitchen table and sat down in one of the wooden chairs. She picked up the cloth napkin and folded it neatly while waiting expectantly for Jack to sit down. But he didn't.

"I didn't tell you to bring . . . that . . . into our bed" he said angrily.

"It's the most comfortable place. Much better than the couch. And you weren't here."

Elizabeth shook her head in mild confusion at Jack's attitude and stood up from the table.

"It's not like I was going to keep you awake, so what's the problem?" she asked as moved to the pie safe. Opening the wooden cabinet door with its punched metal screen, she took out the apple pie. She raised it to her nose and sniffed the sweet tasty aroma before setting it on the counter and reaching for a plate.

"What's the problem? What's the problem?!" a stunned Jack asked angrily even as his heart denied what his mind was telling him. _This can't be right! She loves me. She'd never cheat on me!,_ his heart told him.

"Please stop yelling, Jack. It's not good for the baby."

"My yelling's not good for the baby? What about what you've been doing? In our bed! In our bed!

"For goodness sakes, stop with the bed part! Look, I don't know why you're so upset. You told me to stop reading romance novels. So, I tried something more exciting. And to tell you the truth, it is soooo much better! It's thrilling. And gets my heart pumping."

"I don't want to hear about it!"

"That's kind of harsh. I thought you might want to know. You know, what I like. What interests me. . . He makes me shiver," she added excitedly.

Jack felt nauseated.

"You said I made you tingle", he reminded her. His voice was a mixture of hurt and anger and confusion.

Elizabeth laughed. "You do. But you weren't here. And this was entirely different. It was a scary kind of feeling."

Elizabeth placed a slice of pie on a plate with a fork and set it down on the table for Jack, but he ignored her offering.

 _This isn't happening. This isn't happening_ , a bewildered Jack repeated to himself.

He put his hands on the counter to support himself and looked down before asking the next question.

"How often? How often has this happened?"

"Every night you're gone."

"Every night?" he asked with a strangled voice.

"And sometimes during the day."

"During the day?!"

Jack was shocked. Dazed. He felt like he was watching this happen to someone else. He barely heard her when she calmly informed him that the pie was delicious as she took a forkful to her mouth.

"Do you . . . do you like him better than me?"

"That's an odd question." Elizabeth's brow furrowed in puzzlement.

"Just tell me." He fought to control his voice which he worried sounded pathetic, but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice.

"I suppose. I mean, he is a professional."

"You paid for it?!"

"I'm not a thief! And we have the money. . . . . . And as far as comparing him to you, he's longer and has more substance", she admitted with a smile. "You have to recognize that."

Jack, without thinking, automatically looked down at himself below the waist for a split second before returning his gaze to her.

"I mean, Jack, really. Your Haiku was not exactly stimulating! It was only 17 syllables about my stew."

"Because I can't make up poetry, you turned to this guy?"

"No. . . . Well, it did get me thinking. I like poetry. . . . I don't know why it upsets you so much. I promise on the nights you're in town, I won't even think about him. You'll have all my attention."

A stupefied Jack continued to stare at her and then looked to the kitchen floor. "I know I'm not getting something here. I know I'm not getting something here . . .. . ." he muttered under his breath.

"Good grief. If this is really bothering you, I'll stop. But what am I supposed to do next time you're out of town?"

"Think about me! About our marriage!"

"That's kind of selfish on your part, isn't it?

"Selfish?!"

"Jack, you honestly want me just to go to bed every night thinking of you?" She raised her eyes and looked at him with distain.

"Yes! What the hell is going on in our marriage?!"

"Jack, calm down. "

"The night I was throwing pebbles at the window -?"

"Yeah. Sorry about that. I was stupid not to realize it was you throwing pebbles. I should have known you might come home early. But seriously, Jack, that was a bit careless of you."

"Careless? Of me?"

"You could have broken a window. In this weather. The nights are still chilly", Elizabeth shivered just thinking about it.

 _She cares about a window? Our marriage is in pieces and she cares about a piece of glass?_

"This has to stop!"

"I suppose you're right. Although I do think you're being a bit unreasonable."

 _Unreasonable?! She hasn't even seen unreasonable yet. I'll kill him. I'll kill him. He's not taking her away from me._

"Who is it? What's his name?"

"Edgar Allan Poe."

"The author?"

"Of course, the author. Unless there's another one I don't know about"," she said with a smile as she began peeling a pile of potatoes.

"Edgar Allen Poe in our bed?" His voice showed his confusion.

"You make it sound so seedy. What is wrong with you, Jack? My goodness, you're obsessed with our bed! If you love it so much, find a way to take it with you next time you leave! I'll sleep on the floor!"

"You've been staying up late reading in bed", he said quietly. He meant it as a simple statement of realization, but Elizabeth took it as a renewed accusation.

"For Pete's sake, you're being irrational. I like to read a book before bed. You know that!"

She turned her back and began furiously running the peeler over the brown skin of the potato in her hand. The peels dropped messily to the floor but she didn't care. "Why can't you just be happy to be home?!"

 _A book! She's been talking about reading Edgar Allan Poe at night! That's why she can't fall sleep._

 _A Telltale heart! The beating heart!_

 _The Raven! Tapping on the window!_

 _Thank goodness._

 _I knew she'd never cheat on me_.

* * *

Jack breathed a sigh of relief now that the truth had finally dawned on him.

Until he saw her shoulders quiver.

And then he knew. Without her even turning around, he knew.

From the way her shoulders moved and the way that her head was downcast.

He knew that the one thing that he couldn't stop from happening was starting to happen.

The one thing he couldn't handle.

The one thing that made him feel utterly helpless.

Hormonal crying. The dreaded curse of pregnant women.

"Elizabeth?" he asked cautiously.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again. It's not like I'm going to be a bad mom. Is that what you think? Because I read so much, I'll ignore the baby?"

Tears were streaming down her pale cheeks when she turned to face Jack.

For some reason, Jack suddenly thought of a puppy. A cute puppy with long golden ears who looks pathetically sad when it's been scolded. The kind of look that makes the scolder feel guilty for even being in the same room as the innocent sweet creature.

Jack felt like dirt.

Elizabeth used her sleeve to wipe her face before continuing. "Because I won't ignore the baby. And I'm sorry I've been tired during the day. I'm not lazy. I'm just tired."

A speechless Jack stood there. Unsure of what to do as more tears continued to come out of her eyes like a faucet that couldn't stop.

 _How did she go from okay_ _to crying in a split second?!_

 _A split second!_

"I couldn't sleep at night without you so I read the stories and then his poems. And then I was too scared to fall asleep. And when you were throwing pebbles at the window, I was so scared. I thought it was a raven! It freaked me out. I'm sorry you had to sleep at the jailhouse! But why are you so mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you, sweetie. I was just overreacting. I –"

 _I barely had time to breathe and she's done a 180 degree turn on emotions!_

Elizabeth took a deep gulp and tried to breathe as she searched her skirt pockets for a handkerchief. Not finding one, she wiped her nose and wet eyes on her sleeve again. The fabric was quickly becoming soaked. "I won't read any more at night. Not romance novels and not scary stuff. Nothing. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I –" _What the heck do I say?!_

As Jack stood there struggling for words, Elizabeth walked into the living room.

She pulled a book, which Jack recognized as a science book, from between the couch cushions and then handed it obediently to Jack before she hurried upstairs.

He stood at the bottom of the staircase. Replaying the last five minutes in his head _._

 _Shes crying like she's made of water!_

 _How the heck did I cause this?!_

 _. . . . I wonder if there's a book on situations like this._

* * *

She came down a minute later, carrying something in her hands.

"Edgar Allen Poe?"

"Two books." Elizabeth sniffled. "One poetry and one short stories. I'll get rid of both of them. They're both scary. I'm sorry. I know you think I'm practically addicted to reading sometimes. And I sometimes burn dinner because I'm engrossed in a book. I'll stop. . . . The romance novels are in the kitchen cupboard. "

She picked up a napkin and tried to blow her nose. "I promise I won't ever ignore the baby."

Jack moved across the room and wrapped his arms around her, holding her to his chest. "Shhh. I'm an idiot. That's all. I'm just an idiot. You can read all you want."

"I've got another book in the knitting basket. . . . And another in the laundry."

Jack couldn't help but be amused at her love of books. Now he felt that he was worse than dirt.

"I hate when you're mad at me". She buried her face in Jack's shirt which quickly became wet with her tears.

Jack was hopelessly torn. He could let her continue to think she was at fault. In which case, she would allow him to wrap his arms around her.

Or, he could tell her the truth that he was at fault. In which case. . . well, he didn't like to think about that.

 _What the hell do I do now?!_

 **Up next: Chapter 54, Part 2.**


	54. Chapter 54 - The Cheating Bibliophile 2

**Chapter 54 – The Cheating Bibliophile Part 2**

A guilty-feeling Jack held his tearful wife in his arms as they stood in the front room of the rowhouse.

He lifted his head and looked over her shoulder at the small pile of books she had gathered. The fact that she had been reading late at night rather than sharing her bed with another man should have thrilled Jack. But he was too busy feeling guilty that he had even entertained the thought that she would betray him.

 _I have to tell her the truth. That this is all my fault,_ he realized.

 _I basically accused her of cheating on me. Except she's so naively perfect that she didn't even pick up on that._

 _That's right. I accused my sweet pregnant wife whose only faults are an inability to cook well and a penchant for reading too many books of committing adultery._

Jack's mind continued to spin over their recent conversation as he moved one of his hands to Elizabeth's hair and slowly stroked it.

 _I made her cry. And she thinks I'm mad at her for reading. When in reality, I'm just an idiot with an over-active imagination. I could definitely use a book on how to fix this situation right about now._

 _I can't tell her the truth. She'll kill me._

 _I have to tell her the truth. God, she's so darn tempting when she cries. I just want to hold her and make everything all better._

 _I can't tell her. She'll never let me hold her again._

 _I'll tell her it's not her fault. I'll admit my mistake. And she'll kiss me and tell me it's okay._

 _I can't admit my mistake. She'll never kiss me again. She might even slap me for the first time! Gosh, she smells good. She's wearing that perfume I bought her when we were in Calgary for our wedding. Our wedding. When we promised to be with each other forever. How could I think she'd cheat on me?! Damn Edgar Allan Poe. It's all his fault._

 _I'll tell her._

 _I can't tell her._

* * *

Unsure of which option to choose, Jack did the only sensible male thing. He chose neither.

Changing the topic seemed the most productive route to take.

"That pie wasn't enough for you. How about some dinner?"

Elizabeth sniffled and moved away from him. "I'll go make something. I started peeling the potatoes."

"No. I meant that I'll make dinner", Jack offered.

Elizabeth blew her nose before speaking. "You think that I'll burn dinner."

"No! Not at all. I just thought I'd make it. So, you can relax."

Elizabeth, feeling drained from the sleepless nights and her crying spell, sat down on the couch and looked at Jack with her watery eyes. "You can't cook."

"Then I'll go get something from Abigail's and bring it back here. You've had a long day. Go change into your nightclothes and I'll be back in twenty minutes."

"You can't. Your shirt's wet from my crying and I haven't ironed the others", she explained sadly as she wiped her eyes. "And then everyone in town will think that I can't cook _and_ I can't iron _and_ I let you leave the house in wet clothes. They'll think I'm a terrible wife."

"No, they won't. Because I will tell them that you are such a perfect wife that I am serving you dinner in bed."

"People don't have dinner in bed. They have breakfast in bed."

"We'll call it a very late breakfast. A very very late breakfast."

"They'll think we're odd."

"Sweetie, they already think we're odd."

"You think?"

"I'm a rich city-boy Mountie who came to town with no desire to marry. And you're a school teacher who confuses the heck out of me with your small-town ways. And we are hopelessly in love. They most definitely think we're odd."

* * *

Rip pushed his nose farther along the porcelain plate, sniffing for any more remnants of the fried chicken and coleslaw.

Finding nothing substantial, he picked up the largest of the bones in his canine teeth and moved to a corner of the room. Leaving the tray with the dirty dishes on the floor by the bedroom door, he contently lay down and began quietly gnawing on the left-over scrap that the couple in bed hadn't wanted.

Jack. lying with his back on the mattress, ran his hand through Elizabeth's hair and then stretched out one arm to turn down the lantern's flame. Her breath was warm on him as she lay on his chest.

Her eyes, tired and red from crying, were closed as she wavered between consciousness and the first stage of sleep.

"I thought you had cheated on me", he said softly.

"With a book?"

"With a man."

"I'd rather cheat on you with a book", she replied drowsily.

* * *

Five minutes later, Elizabeth sat straight up in bed and glanced at Jack.

He was glad that the moonlight, while allowing him to see the outline of her body, didn't let him see the features of her face. It was bad enough imaging how mad she must be. Why else would she jolt awake from the verge of sleep.

"You thought I was cheating on you?" Elizabeth's voice was full of incredulity.

"Listen. Don't get upset at me –"

"You thought I was cheating on you with another man? Did you fall off your horse too many times and hit your head?"

"I -"

"Why in the world would I cheat on you with another man?" she asked in disbelief. "I've got my hands full with you."

Without waiting for a response from Jack, she lay back down comfortably on her side of the bed, closed her eyes, and fell asleep peacefully. Wondering how men can be so smart about some things and so stupid about women.

* * *

The next afternoon, Jack arrived at the bottom of the schoolhouse staircase five minutes before two o'clock, and waited impatiently for the end-of-school bell to ring. He kicked the dirt with his boots and tried to stop grinning; but he couldn't as he thought of his surprise for Elizabeth.

When the last of the children had rushed down the wooden stairs, Jack, anticipating her response, suddenly took his time, savoring the surprise, as he walked up the wooden planks and in through the double doorway.

* * *

The weather was perfect for a long walk.

Jack had thought about taking a wagon for the two-mile trip but he knew that Elizabeth, who found the wagon too bouncy during her pregnancy, preferred to walk. It was still early enough in the afternoon that they had plenty of time to walk to the farm, spend time with his surprise present to her, and walk home before dark.

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked for the third time as they walked with the town to their backs. She held tightly onto his arm as her boot heels sunk into the ground in some soft spots.

"I told you it's a surprise."

"Last night's attack on my morality was a surprise. Will it be like that? Should I suspect something similar?"

Jack grimaced despite knowing that Elizabeth was just teasing him. "The Parsons farm."

"Why?"

"Because I have a present for you there."

"The foal?! Are we getting the foal?!"

Jack couldn't hide his smile at her excitement.

"We are. I spoke to Ted. He apologized for punching me. I apologized for giving him the impression that I wanted to watch his wife give birth. And we agreed on a price. It will be a few more months until she can leave the mare. But she's ours."

"Thank you!", Elizabeth replied gleefully and added a little skip to her walking. "But you don't have to get me a present just because you accused me of cheating on you. That you thought I had broken our vows. Been a trollop. Committed adultery. Defiled our bed."

"I was going to get it for you anyway. And you can stop reminding me what an idiot I was."

"Not when it's so much fun. By the way, you do know that Edgar Allen Poe has been dead for more than 60 years? If I was going to have an affair with a poet, I'd pick one that wasn't dead and buried."

* * *

"She's so tiny and adorable", Elizabeth said as they stood outside the stall containing the mare and her foal. The top half of the wooden Dutch door was wide open, giving Elizabeth full view of the brown and white filly standing next to its mother.

Jack chuckled. "She's probably about two hundred pounds. But you're right. She is pretty adorable. I thought of a name for her."

"What's that?"

"Bibliophile"

Elizabeth giggled. "I'm quite sure that this little filly has never read a single book."

"I know. But you once told me that everything bad should be turned into something good. So, I thought that my stupidity over your book reading should be turned into something good. Like this filly. Every time, I see her I'll remember how you are perfect for me and how you would never cheat on me with anything more than a book. And how strong out love is. "

"Elizabeth, are you even listening to me?" Jack asked when Elizabeth didn't respond but continued to look at the horses.

She brushed back a lock of her hair as she stood with one hand clutching the bottom half of the hinged door, and looked at the foal, which was now nursing.

 _It's obvious she likes her present because she's ignoring my declaration of love,_ he thought with an amused shake of his head.

"Elizabeth?"

"I heard you. I like the name. Although it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue", Elizabeth replied with a smile.

"Rich people always have long odd names for horses."

"You're right. Then Bibliophile she'll be. We can call her Bibby for short."

"Do you want to go into her stall and pet her?"

"Not now," Elizabeth responded with a casual shrug.

"Why not?"

"I think I'm in labor."

 **Up next: Chapter 55.**


	55. Chapter 55 - Tiffany, Hope, Grace

**Chapter 55 – Tiffany, Grace, Charlotte, Hope, or Jacklyn**

The walk home from the Parsons' farm after visiting the foal had never seemed so long to Jack. What should have taken fifty minutes took about . . . . fifty minutes. But to Jack, it seemed to take forever. Elizabeth's surprise announcement that she thought she was in labor had changed every perception of time.

"Can you walk faster, Elizabeth?"

"Maybe you should walk slower, Elizabeth?"

"Maybe you should sit here and I'll come back with a wagon?"

"I don't think I can leave you here."

On and on it went. As they walked along the dirt path towards town, Jack nervously said whatever thought popped into his head; continuously questioning whether they had made the right decision to leave the Parsons farm and make their way back to their rowhouse. But Elizabeth had been insistent.

"Jack, we have plenty of time. I am having this baby in our house. Not in someone else's. And walking is good for me. It helps with labor."

"Then why do you keep cringing?"

"Because it hurts."

"A lot?"

"Not really. Just like cramps. It's not that often. Let's just keep walking."

* * *

"Are you sure you're in labor?" Jack asked for the third time after they had walked for a mile.

"Yes, Jack. I'm sure."

"Really sure?"

"Stop nagging."

"I mean, you've never been in labor before. Maybe you're wrong."

"You've never had your pregnant wife strangle you out of frustration before but I'm sure you'd know it when it happens to you."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. But how am I supposed to know? This is my first child."

"If it wasn't your first child, you'd have a lot of explaining to do."

Jack, distracted by something in the grassy field, ignored her teasing. He gently disentangled his arm from her grasp, and walked fifteen feet off the path.

Ten seconds later, he returned to her carrying a flower with three white petals. He didn't know that the official name of the flower was Trillium. And he didn't know that Native Americans considered it to have medicinal qualities to help with childbirth. All he knew was that it was one of the first flowers to bloom in Canada when the cold Winter turned to Spring. And he wanted it for his wife.

"A flower for my princess." He tucked the plant behind her ear, gave her a soft kiss, and then took a deep breath to renew his confidence before smiling at her.

"I don't want you to worry about anything", he said reassuringly. "I'm a Mountie and a business owner. I will take care of you always. I'm never going to let anything happen to our family. Everything's going to be okay."

With no warning, Elizabeth suddenly felt her eyes grow misty and her voice started to crack with emotion. "Jack, I just want you to know before we embark on this adventure of being parents that I wouldn't want this life with anyone but you. Ever. You are everything to me."

"I feel the same way." He leaned in and gave her a tender kiss. "Now let's go have us a baby!"

* * *

The confidence Jack had felt when he had given Elizabeth the flower had disappeared as her excitement and mild discomfort had turned into more frequent painful contractions.

He jumped up from the couch cushion when he heard the doctor's footsteps coming down the stairs. Elizabeth had been in labor for three hours before the doctor had finally arrived after Jack had sent someone to ride out to the settlers' campsite to get him. Thankfully the midwife, who had been shopping at the mercantile, had come over immediately.

"She's definitely in labor", the older gentleman said as he patted Jack on the arm.

"It's too early."

"It will be fine."

"Is it my fault? That she's going into labor?"

"You are the one that got her pregnant. At least I assumed you are. Aren't you?" the doctor asked politely.

A stressed Jack missed the twinkle in the doctor's eyes as he quickly answered.

"Yes! Of course, I am. That's not what I meant! I meant is it my fault that she's going into labor _early_. Because I made her cry yesterday."

"Why'd you make her cry yesterday?"

"Does it make a difference?" a worried Jack asked.

"Not really. Just curious. I thought it might make a good story to tell my wife. She loves hearing stories about you two. The time Elizabeth fell down the sunken coal mine shaft and I tended to her after you found her; my wife really liked hearing about that."

Jack gave the doctor a bewildered look.

"Jack, calm down," the doctor instructed as he gave Jack another reassuring pat on the arm. "I know that this is your first baby, but I've delivered more than fifty."

"She shouldn't be in labor yet. Not for another two weeks." Jack's face creased in worry as he spoke.

"Picking a due date is not an exact science."

"But you're a doctor. You're supposed to be able to figure these things out."

"As I said, it's not an exact science. Especially because when I tried to pinpoint your wife on the conception date, she wasn't very helpful."

"What do you mean?"

"When she first suspected that she was pregnant, I showed her a calendar and asked her to pick the dates of marital relations. She picked every day that month and then moved onto the prior month. When she continued to nod on each date, I finally gave up."

Jack blushed and looked down. "Yeah, well, we were . . . um . . . newlyweds."

"Actually, you were already married several months by the time of conception. Past the honeymoon." The doctor looked up from his glasses and gave Jack a knowing look. "Don't forget you eloped in Calgary months before that high-society wedding reception of yours in Hamilton. It appears that you and your wife were thoroughly enjoying each other's company for quite some time. In fact, I'm surprised that she didn't get pregnant earlier. And your frequent . . . love for each other . . . made it difficult for me to pick the exact date of conception."

"Let's just concentrate on her right now", Jack said as he tried to change the topic.

"I'm going to Abigail's to get some dinner before she closes the kitchen for the night."

"You can't leave. Elizabeth's having a baby", Jack said in a stunned voice.

"Not any time soon. I've got time to go eat."

"No. You have to stay!"

"You gonna arrest me, Sergeant?"

"Well, no of course not, but –"

"Because if you arrest me, you'll have to rely on the midwife to deliver this baby. And I think she was planning on going home to tuck her children into bed."

"Put her children to bed?! What the heck for? They can go to bed on their own!"

"They're three and four years old. And her husband's got a broken arm and a cold."

Jack looked frazzled at the idea of both the doctor and midwife being out of the house while Elizabeth lay upstairs in bed.

"Sergeant, calm down. I'm going to eat at Abigail's, the midwife's going home for ten minutes, and Abigail's finishing up at the Café. I've seen your wife's list of who is to handle her delivery. I believe you're number four. You think you can handle everything for a bit?"

* * *

Jack's hand was sweating as he carried the glass of lemonade into the bedroom.

"How's it going?"

Elizabeth looked up from the book she was reading and gave shrug and weak smile.

"I'm trying to take my mind off it but – " . She stopped reading as another contraction gripped her. After a moment's pause with her face in a grimace, she breathed deeply and then gently tossed the book onto the floor.

"Can I do anything?"

"Take my mind off of this."

"Sure. Okay." Jack sat down on the side of the bed and stared blankly at his wife. "Um. The doctor will be back soon. So will the midwife. And Abigail will be over after the dinner crowd leaves."

"So, you're in charge?"

"Don't worry. I've get everything under control. I know exactly what to."

"I'm not worried. You read the childbirth book, right?"

"Of course, I did."

"All of it?"

"Most of it ", Jack admitted after the briefest pause.

"Most of it?! Why didn't you read all of it?!" she exclaimed in sudden anxiousness.

"Because some parts were scary. I didn't want to think about things that could go wrong. I learned about some of that in the Academy but that was before I knew you. Before it was real. Before it was _my_ wife having _my_ child. I read most everything. But the part about twins I didn't think I needed to read. Or the part about breach birth because the doctor told us weeks ago that the baby was in the right position."

"Yeah, I kind of skimmed the scary parts too", Elizabeth admitted glumly.

"Jack, do you think we'll be good at this?"

"Being parents? Of course, we will."

"I hope so", Elizabeth replied worriedly.

"You're a teacher. You're great with children. And I'm great with you. So by extension that makes me great with children too," he added with a smile.

"Being a teacher is one thing. But my students are older and I don't have them all day. I don't have to feed them, and bathe them, and teach them to talk and walk."

"Hey, where's your confidence?"

"I'm just panicking a little", she managed to get out as her stomach tightened.

Jack smoothed back Elizabeth's hair, which was dampened with perspiration, from her forehead and confidently looked at her.

It never failed; whenever her confidence faltered. . . . whenever something alarmed her . . . whenever something caused a crack in her calm nature, something in him took over. Confidence. Courage. A need to protect her. A need to let her know everything was going to be okay.

"Kiss me and smile for me. Tell me that you believe in us", he ordered gently as he held her face in his palms.

* * *

Word spread quickly through Hope Valley that the town's beloved school teacher was in labor.

After eating their nightly meals, people began congregating on the Thornton's front porch. It wasn't that they all felt the need to be present to congratulate the Thorntons. Rather, numbers five, six, seven, eight, and nine on Elizabeth's baby delivery list didn't feel that they could refuse the order of the town Mountie when he sent for them.

And those not on the list joined because it seemed like the place to be. Soon someone had brought a plate of fresh oatmeal cookies to pass around and someone else showed up with a jug of apple cider to share.

Jack shut the window to muffle the sounds of the numerous voices laughing and disagreeing over name choices for the expected Thornton baby before he picked up the empty glass from the nightstand.

* * *

Feeling helpless to ease Elizabeth's discomfort, he was walking down the staircase to get more lemonade for her when Clint Blackthorn, having been bumped to number ten on the list when Jack had been added, stopped by to offer his services.

"The first stage of labor in a mare can take from one to four hours. She'll act restless, circling around her stall. They change their behavior. Elizabeth acting like that?"

"My wife is not a horse."

"Her water break yet?"

"I am not having this conversation with out. Get out", a weary Jack ordered as he motioned to the door.

* * *

Two hours later, Tim Smyth climbed up the few steps to the front porch, and nodded to the people sitting in the chairs and on the steps who greeted him and then returned to playing cards under the painted blue porch ceiling, as he made his way inside.

"A watched pot never boils. Maybe you should go outside and play cards. Take your mind off things," Tim remarked when he found Jack standing by the kitchen and watching a kettle of water on the stove.

"Nah, I'm fine. I'm just getting her a cup of tea. I'm too nervous to play cards."

"How's she doing?"

"Okay. A bit drained. She was nervous at first. Now I think she's just dreading every contraction. We tried reading for a while to take our mind off things, but it's kind of hard to take your mind off of giving birth."

"Any idea how much longer?"

Jack shook his head. "Doc's upstairs with her again. He says if I ask one more time, he'll use his ether to knock me out."

Tim tried to stifle his chuckle. "I stopped by the mercantile and picked these up for you. I thought you would want to pass them around later",

Jack looked in confusion at the tightly-rolled bundles of dried and fermented tobacco leaves which the older man was handing to him.

"I don't smoke."

"Me neither usually. But it's tradition."

"Yeah. Okay. You're right. Thanks. I forgot. Cigars to pass out when the baby's born."

"Jack, you need to calm down."

"I'm fine. I'm fine."

"Then stopping pacing."

* * *

When the midwife went to the kitchen, Jack glanced around to make sure that the woman wasn't looking before he sneaked up to the bedroom.

As he reached the landing at the top of the staircase, his ears picked up part of a conversation between Elizabeth and the doctor.

" . . . a caesarean section can be difficult but necessary."

"A caesarian?" Jack echoed in alarm as he walked in and worriedly glanced from Elizabeth to the doctor and back to Elizabeth.

"Calm down, Sergeant. We're not performing a caesarian section."

"Then why are you talking about it?"

"Your wife and I were just discussing the origin of the term. Although it can't be proven conclusively, it's thought that it comes from Julius Caesar of Ancient Rome who decreed that the procedure was to be performed on all women dying in childbirth. It was a way to save the child and therefore, increase the population. Increasing the population was important. . .

. . . You know, for tax reasons, defense, things like that. Most people think that Julius Caesar was born by caesarian but that's not true. It wasn't named after his actual birth. Now the month of July _was_ named after him. Lovely month. July is. Beautiful flowers. Warm weather. Long days. My wife and I always love to picnic in July. There's a spot . . . "

Despite the pain of her contraction, Elizabeth couldn't help but giggle as Jack gave her a wide-eyed look, clearly indicating that he had concerns about the competency of the town's only doctor who was now starting to babble about his wife's favorite picnic spot.

Jack was torn between slapping the doctor on the head to get him to focus on Elizabeth or trying to make cordial conversation about summer picnics so as to not get on the doctor's bad side.

He also seriously wondered if he and Elizabeth should have left for Hamilton a week ago so she could deliver this baby in an actual hospital.

* * *

The moon rose high in the sky, but the baby inside Elizabeth made no effort to join the citizens of Hope Valley any time soon.

The visitors on the front porch had gone home hours ago.

Bill Avery had managed to keep Jack occupied for a while by discussing Mountie work, but he gave up when Jack had absent-mindedly suggested that it would save time if they just allowed criminals to arrest themselves.

Finally, even Abigail, who had come after the dinner crowd and stayed for a few hours, had gone home to get some sleep before the morning's breakfast crowd.

"It's been eleven hours. Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Jack asked with concern.

The doctor took a deep sigh. "Sergeant Thornton, I told you that I've delivered close to forty babies."

"You said more than fifty," Jack replied with accusation creeping into his voice.

"Forty. Fifty. Twenty. They're so little sometimes it's hard to keep track of them", the man responded with a shrug.

"Hard to keep track of?!"

"And twins I just count once. Doesn't seem fair to take credit for two when it only takes a minute more for the second one to come out. . . .'course my wife agrees that ugly babies should count double."

A stunned Jack stood there wondering if he would be better equipped at delivering this baby than the doctor, who had turned his back to hide his smile.

The doctor's wife had warned him about teasing nervous men who were going to be fathers for the first time. But as he had explained to his wife, after watching women in labor for hours at a time, he needed something to amuse himself.

"Now Sergeant Thornton, I think you need to relax. I remember how we were discussing the frequency of your marital relations with your wife? It got me thinking that after this baby, the two of you will be having plenty more. So, I suggest you stay on my good side. I'd like a cup of coffee please. From the Saloon. Take your time."

* * *

Jack was halfway down the street when he realized that the Saloon had been closed for over an hour. The cool night air felt refreshing and he calmed down a bit. Until he realized that he was going to be a father.

"Back so soon?" the midwife asked as she walked down the steps and saw Jack coming in the front door.

"Saloon's closed. How's she doing?"

"She's getting closer. Why don't you go see her one last time before I kick you out."

* * *

"Hi Jellybean, how are you doing?"

"I'm having a baby", Elizabeth said weakly. "How did this happen? I was just supposed to come to Coal Valley to teach for a while and -"

Elizabeth stopped speaking and squeezed her eyes shut for a few seconds. "Damn, that hurt."

"Sorry."

"What have you been doing?"

"Nothing much. I chopped some wood. Took Rip for a walk. Chased Clint away. Swept the kitchen floor. Had Ned Yost deliver a small bookcase from the mercantile, which I filled with your books. Polished my boots. Cleaned the ashes out of the stove. Counted the diapers we have – we have 20. I think that's enough."

"Is anyone still here?"

"They got bored and left. But not before they all placed bets on the time of birth. The pot's up to $20."

"My wife pick a time?"

Jack looked over his shoulder, scowled at the doctor's question, and shot him a terse look which didn't seem to faze the man one bit as he simply continued to talk.

"She's usually pretty good about picking the time. Some folks think we got a system going where we're in co-hoots over the timing. As if I could keep the baby stuffed in there until the perfect time", he said with a chuckle. "I'm good but not that good. . . . . 'course she has won the last five betting pools."

Jack looked worriedly at his watch and at Elizabeth before wondering curiously what time the doctor's wife had chosen.

"Get me another cup of coffee, Sergeant?"

"Do you really think you should be holding a cup of hot coffee when Elizabeth's about to give birth?"

"You're right. It's almost four o'clock in the morning and I've had a long day. Coffee would just keep me awake. Much better if I just fall asleep. Let nature take its course. Your wife can wake me up in time to catch the baby."

When Elizabeth noticed Jack practically growl in response, she quickly spoke up.

"Doctor, why don't you take a break and join the midwife downstairs? I think she's making a fresh pot. Maybe Jack can stay and hold my hand for a bit? Until it gets closer in time."

The doctor moved toward the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes. Scream if you need me."

"I will."

"Make it loud, though. My hearing's not what it used to be. Too many screaming women and babies", he added with a shake of his head.

* * *

"I thought he'd never leave", Jack whispered conspiratorially as the doctor headed down the steps.

Elizabeth giggled. "I thought you didn't want him to leave earlier."

"That was hours ago. When I didn't realize how useless he is. All he's done so far is talk to you and put that stethoscope on your belly a few times. I can do that."

"You didn't go to medical school."

"I'm not so sure he did either", Jack remarked dryly.

He moved across the room and picked up the stethoscope which the doctor had left on the dresser.

Placing it round his neck, Jack walked back to Elizabeth. "I don't know why he even uses this thing. What's he trying to do with it? Find out if you've got a baby in there? We already know there's a baby in there. It's not like you just got fat for no reason."

"Fat?" a slightly offended Elizabeth asked.

"I suppose some of your fatness could be due to all you've been eating. But I'm pretty sure there's a baby in there, too. It can't all be the pie you have every night."

"Get away from me", a now very offended Elizabeth growled as Jack placed the stethoscope on her belly.

"Another contraction coming? Is there anything you can do to help deal with it?"

"Hitting someone may help", she replied sternly as she looked at her clueless husband.

* * *

It was another hour before the newest member of the Thornton family made an entrance.

The doctor had being examining Elizabeth when, much to Jack's surprise, his demeanor shifted. He suddenly become professional and almost fatherly as he escorted Jack out of the bedroom and closed the door.

Jack leaned with his back against the thick wooden panel keeping him from his wife. Trying to decipher the sounds inside. Listening to the encouraging words of the doctor and midwife. When he couldn't stand listening to Elizabeth's pained breathing and pleas for it to be over, he moved downstairs.

He was sitting on the staircase's bottom step, anticipating another scream by Elizabeth and fortifying himself so he wouldn't cringe, when he heard it.

His daughter's first sounds.

* * *

"So, what's her name going to be?"

Jack, who had already been staring for ten minutes, couldn't take his eyes off the baby nestled in Elizabeth's arms as he continued talking. "I like Tiffany. It's pretty and elegant. And Hope is nice because Hope Valley is where we met and fell in love. Our mothers would love to have her named Grace and Charlotte."

"I know which one I want."

"You still think you want to name her Jacklyn?"

"Positive. And not because I'm worried about losing you one day and needing a child named after you. But because she's part of both of us. She's going to have my curls. Your dark hair. My love of learning. Your love of the outdoors. My gender. Your name. Jacklyn."

"Jacklyn Elizabeth Thornton", he said with a smile as he ran a finger gently along one of his daughter's chubby cheeks. "I love you. Both of you."

"I kind of figured that when you pushed open the bedroom door, knocked over the lantern, and stubbed your toe in a hurry to get to us."

"I was jealous. The doctor and midwife got to see her before me."

"Is anyone left in the house?"

"It's just us. Doc said he'd come by later to check on the two of you. You should get some rest. It's been a long night."

"I'll go to sleep in a bit. Not just yet", Elizabeth said softly as she leaned down and lightly kissed the baby in her arms.

"It will be dawn soon." Jack looked at his watch and then glanced toward the window.

Suddenly, he got up from the bed and began pushing it. "Hold on", he instructed as the he moved the mattress and bed-frame a foot across the floor until it was directly in front of the window.

"Sol omnibus lucet", he announced quietly so as to not disturb his sleeping daughter.

"The sun the shines for everyone", Elizabeth responded with a curious smile.

"Our first day as a family."

* * *

The three Thorntons sat quietly together on the bed as if they were one entity rather than three individual humans each with their own heart.

Perhaps that was because their hearts had been joining together since the instant when they had first met. With every miscommunication, every teasing moment, every loving tender touch, they had slowly transformed.

Through burnt meals and horseback riding lessons. Through walks to the school house and dinners at the jailhouse. Through summer days on the lake to winter days in front of a warm fire, they had become one. One heart. One family.

If someone were to observe them from a distance, he or she would scarcely be able to tell where one person's limb began and another's ended. Jack's arms were wrapped around Elizabeth's, whose own arms were cradling the small infant.

The morning sun covered them in warm brightness as a new day began.

 **Up Next: Chapter 56**

 **Dear Readers, I took a short line from a song and used it in this chapter. Anyone spot it?**


	56. Chapter 56 - The First 24 hours

**Dear readers, after the emotional WCTH episode this past Sunday with Jack riding off into the distance and leaving a crying Elizabeth standing in the street, how about something light-hearted to lighten up the week. :)**

 **The First 24 hours**

 _I'm a mother! A mother!_ Elizabeth thought as she sat up in bed and leaned up against two feather-filled pillows.

The late morning sun shone through the window pane and covered the room in a warm glow of golden yellow.

Dust floated in the sunlight but Elizabeth didn't care about cleaning. She had slept for an hour at most, waking up twice to breastfeed – just for two or three minutes each time – and had spent a considerable amount of time in bed simply staring adoringly at her daughter.

Every time she had started to fall asleep, Elizabeth had been jolted awake by the incredibly happy reality that she was now a mother. She and Jack had made a perfect, absolutely perfect, little baby.

A perfect baby that had taken fourteen hours to enter the world. Fourteen hours of pain and worry. Contractions and vomiting. Fear and finally joy.

A baby that Elizabeth felt needed to be checked every three minutes to make sure she was still breathing. That she was warm enough. That she wasn't too warm. That she still had her ten fingers and ten toes. That she hadn't been kidnapped.

 _I'm finally a mother after nine months! All those months of eating the right foods and taking care of myself. Of praying for this moment with Jack. After dreaming of this day for so long, I'm finally a mother._

 _Gosh, who knew it would be so . . . so . . .so . . . . exhausting._

When she heard Jack's quiet footsteps, Elizabeth looked up from staring at her daughter's long lashes.

Jack walked in the room, balancing a wooden tray which contained a glass of juice and a bowl of oatmeal. He couldn't keep the grin off his face.

"How you two doing?" he whispered as he put the tray on the nightstand and reached for his daughter.

"We're fine", Elizabeth answered with a smile as she handed him the infant. She adjusted her body slightly as she took the tray. Elizabeth's smile turned into a slight grimace as she moved her lower half but Jack didn't seem to notice.

"You should eat something." Jack sat down on the edge of the bed and ran a finger softly along Jacklyn's cheek.

"I know. I just don't feel like it now. I feel so –", her voice trailed off as she watched Jack gaze at his namesake.

"I know how you feel", Jack said without looking at her.

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. Grateful that her husband was so understanding. So in tune with her feelings. Her emotions.

"You must feel it too, Jack. After all we've been through since yesterday afternoon. The walk home, waiting for the doctor, the hours through the night. You must feel the same way."

Jack nodded. "I do."

Elizabeth took a sip of orange juice and looked at her wonderfully understanding husband.

Jack gently placed his thumb in the baby's mouth and the small infant immediately began sucking on it. "It's just so T-."

 _Oh thank goodness, he feels exactly the same way as I do._

" - Terrific."

 _Terrific?_

 _Terrific?_

 _Terrific!?_

 _I was going to say tiring!_ Elizabeth thought as she choked on her juice, spitting it out.

Jack looked at Elizabeth is confusion as she wiped her mouth and the front of her nightshirt with the bed sheet.

"Don't you think it's terrific? I mean that's what you were going to say, right?"

"Umm, yeah. Of course. It's just that I'm also a little tired."

"You were up for 24 hours straight." Jack looked understandingly at Elizabeth for just a second before returning his gaze to the baby. "I'm glad you were finally able to sleep a bit."

Elizabeth took another sip of juice before setting the glass down. "Aren't you tired too?"

"I slept pretty well once I lay down. You said you woke up to feed her. You must have been pretty quiet because I slept right through that."

 _Of course, you did. Because you're a man! How could you not hear her make that little mewing sound when she was hungry? She did it twice! Once each time._

Jack bent down and touched his lips to the infant's forehead. "Besides being tired, there's another word you must be feeling", he said quietly.

"I _was_ thinking of another word!" Elizabeth said in surprise.

"I just look at her and how she's part of each of us. How she came out of you." Jack looked at Elizabeth in awe. "She came out of you", he repeated. "I know you must feel like everything is just -. Well, you know."

"You do? You know what's going on with me? How I must feel?" Elizabeth said in happy surprise. _He understands!_ _I have the most incredible husband!_

"I feel it too."

Elizabeth pulled back in confusion. _He feels it? How can he feel it?_

"You feel it?" Her face scrunched up as she looked at him.

"Of course, I do."

"What exactly do you feel?" Elizabeth asked skeptically.

Jack gave her a look of confusion. "I feel what you feel. That's it's perfect. It feels like everything in the world is just perfect. That's what you were going to say, right? That everything feels perfect"

 _Perfect? I wasn't going to say perfect!_

"Go ahead, you can say it too. It's okay to admit that we are so incredibly blessed", Jack encouraged with a smile as he looked at his daughter.

"I was going to say PAINFUL", Elizabeth wailed.

"Painful?" Jack furrowed his brows as he turned his attention away from the baby and stared at Elizabeth. "I think it's perfect."

"Maybe it's perfect for you, but it's painful for me."

"But you had the baby hours ago. Hours ago. Seriously? It still hurts?"

"I had an eight-pound living person come out of me!" Elizabeth practically screamed.

"Eight pounds, three ounces", Jack corrected her before he quickly realized that the size of the baby was not a fact to be bragging about at this moment.

Elizabeth sighed and raised her eyebrows as she gave him a stern sideways look.

"My breasts hurt. It hurts to move in bed. I'm still bleeding. I desperately want a bath but I'm too tired and feeling gross to get out of bed. And I haven't slept for more than five minutes in the last thirty hours."

* * *

Two hours later, Jack's voice was quiet so as to not wake up his sleeping daughter. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he walked in the room and placed some items on the dresser.

"I'm better. How long was I asleep?

"Just a couple hours."

Elizabeth scooted over on the mattress and motioned for Jack to sit next to her. Instead, he leaned against the dresser, a smile on his face as he looked in her direction; she felt herself almost blush at the adoring look in his eyes.

 _Wait a second! He's not even looking at me! He's looking next to me. At Jacklyn._

"What are you thinking?"

"She's perfect"

Elizabeth smiled back as she looked at the baby next to her and then at her husband. "She really is."

"Can I hold her again?"

Elizabeth handed the sleeping infant to Jack and then watched as he cradled her in his arms and began walking around the room. She buttoned the top of her nightdress, reached for a glass on the nightstand, and took a sip of water.

Jacklyn moved one of her fists and yawned, resulting in a broader grin from Jack who seemed to think that his daughter had completed some milestone feat, or invented electricity.

Elizabeth stared at Jack as he stared at the baby.

 _He's so handsome, and I'm a mess. Bleeding, fat, my hair needs washing._

 _Okay. So maybe he needs a shave – but darn, that fact that he's got beard stubble makes him even sexier._

 _And look at what a mess I must be._

 _Don't be silly. All he sees when he looks at me is the woman he loves. Not what I look like. Or smell like._

Jack stopped in front of the window and looked outside at the beautiful weather. "I stopped by the mercantile and sent a few telegrams. Also, I picked up some nice soaps for you." He nodded towards the dresser. "I figured you'd want some. I got you lavender and lemon verbena."

"Did we get any mail?" Elizabeth asked as she ignored his comment about needing soap.

"A magazine and a letter from Suzanna."

"Suzanna? Lady Suzanna?"

"She sent a newspaper clipping from a society function. A bunch of my old school friends were there. They all send their best", Jack explained as he gathered the mail from the top of the dresser and handed it to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth set the magazine aside and reached into the envelope from Hamilton, pulling out the letter covered in feminine penmanship. The newspaper clipping fell into her lap and she looked at the black and white photograph.

"She's beautiful", Elizabeth said before she could stop herself.

Lady Suzanna, one of Jack's oldest friends from Hamilton, was dressed in an elaborately beaded evening gown and surrounded by several equally well dressed men and other women. The other women in the photograph, while pleasant looking, paled in comparison to Suzanna. Her long hair was worn with the front pulled up, while the back and sides fell in perfect waves over her shoulders.

"She's always been attractive", Jack agreed pleasantly. He failed to notice Elizabeth's frown at his comment as he took a sip from her water glass.

Elizabeth looked at Suzanna's impossibly tiny waist and then glanced down at her own full waistline. Self-consciously, she reached her hand to her own hair and felt the tangled mess.

 _She wants my husband! That woman purposely had that photograph taken, had in put in the newspaper, and then mailed it to Jack to show him how beautiful she is compared to me. Why, she probably arranged the society function just so she could wear that incredible dress! Gosh, it's gorgeous. She definitely wants Jack! . . . . ._

 _Okay, don't be silly. Calm down. She doesn't want my husband. She's just being friendly. I'm losing my mind. Lack of sleep and a bath can do that to a woman._

Elizabeth huffed disagreeably and put the newspaper clipping back into the envelope. She reminded herself that Jack thought highly of Suzanna and had never considered her anything more than a close friend.

"I suppose she's happily married now", Elizabeth said, trying to say something pleasant about Jack's childhood friend.

"Her husband's a lucky man."

 _That bitch! She's trying to make Jack regret marrying me!_

* * *

Jack sat comfortably on the couch with the baby in his arms while the doctor, who had moments earlier declared Jacklyn to be perfectly healthy, checked on Elizabeth upstairs.

Earlier in the day, Jack had stopped by the Saloon and informed the bartender to put a drink for every one of the townsmen on his bill for the night. From there, he had stopped by the mercantile, picked up some telegrams, and told Mr. Yost that every child was to get some 10 cents worth of candy when they stopped in. Finally, he had stopped by Abigail's and asked her to deliver baked goods to all the women in town. All in all, Jack loved being a father and could not stop smiling. Today was a day for everyone to celebrate.

"She's fine. You should give her some ice to put on her stitches and relieve pain", the doctor remarked as he came down the staircase with his black bag in his hand.

"Stitches? She didn't have a caesarian section. She didn't need stitches."

Jack shook his head at the quirky doctor and wondered if the doctor even remembered what had occurred hours earlier.

"Jack, childbirth is not easy. She needed to be sewn up."

"You sewed her up?" Jack's voice showed his confusion.

"I thought it was for the best. Or do you think your Mountie training is better than my years of medical school, Sergeant?"

"You sewed her up?", Jack again repeated. This time with worry in his voice as he wondered what the doctor had done to his wife. _I knew I should have never left him alone with her!_

"Yes, Jack. I sewed her up."

"We're married! She needs all her parts! You can't sew her closed!"

It took the doctor five minutes to stop laughing before he could explain to Jack that Elizabeth had torn herself when delivering and required stitches, but that she would be fine in six weeks.

"She still needs her parts", he said with a chuckle as he repeated Jack's words. "My wife's will get a kick out of this."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Jack was sitting on the bed as Elizabeth held the nursing baby. A tray of food from Abigail was positioned on his lap and every few moments he picked up a sandwich and held it up for her to take a bite.

"Mom sent a telegram. She wants to know if you're going to use a wet-nurse?" Jack said.

"She WHAT?"

"She wants to know if you're going to use wet-nurse", Jack repeated with an innocent shrug. "Why's that question bother you?"

"I am quite capable of feeding my own baby!"

"She said you probably would be fine because you were from the country."

" _Excuse_ me?"

"Never mind" Jack replied as he realized he must have said the wrong thing.

"What exactly did she say?" Elizabeth said with a steely voice.

"Just that you came from good country stock. Like a - never mind."

"Like a what?"

"Like a brood mare." Jack said quickly and under his breath.

"She also wrote that she's going to send us a Nanny. If you want her to." Jack said as he tried to change the conversation.

"She WHAT?"

"Elizabeth, are you hearing okay?" That's the second time you asked me to repeat myself."

Jack stared at her with concern. _Could childbirth affect a woman's hearing_?!

"She wants to send us a nanny. The baby care type. Not the goat type", he said clearly and distinctly.

"I know what type she means!"

"Then why'd you ask?!"

"She is NOT sending us a nanny. I can take care of this baby. And you. And teaching", Elizabeth replied indignantly.

"You said you were tired. Maybe you could use some help."

"Of course, I'm tired. I just had a baby! But I'm not going to be tired forever. For Pete's sake, give me a day or two and I'll be fine."

"Okay. I'm going to the jailhouse to do the monthly reports and get them in the mail. I'll be back in a few hours. One of the women brought over some soup. It's on the stove to be heated for dinner. Get some sleep."

* * *

 _Sleep. I don't have time to sleep. Not when another woman wants my husband and my mother-in-law thinks I can't handle being a mother._

 _I'll wash my hair, heat up the soup, get dressed in something pretty, straighten up the house, and . . . and do whatever else needs to be done. Maybe I'll even walk to the Cooper farm and milk the cow. Nice fresh milk! I won't have time to churn it, but we can always buy butter._

Elizabeth put a sleeping Jacklyn into the bassinette, and then picked up her robe from the foot of the bed. Tying the sash around her waist, she put on her woolen slippers.

 _I can do this all before Jack gets back!_

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth plopped down on the couch. Getting downstairs had been a little more troublesome than she had anticipated.

She had been halfway down the stairs, when she realized that she didn't want to leave the baby upstairs without her, so she had turned around and gone back to the bedroom. Then, when she had carried the baby downstairs, she had realized that there was no safe place to put the little one.

Carrying her back upstairs, Elizabeth had placed the baby in the center of the bed, intending to carry the bassinette downstairs first. Elizabeth was again halfway down the stairs when she turned around and went back to the bedroom. She set the bassinette back down on the floor, and strategically placed pillows around the baby, just on the off chance that her daughter, at less than 24 hours old, showed some very advanced physical skills and was able to crawl or roll across the mattress and off the bed.

Elizabeth groaned slightly as she had picked up and carried the bassinette down the staircase, and she had to stop once when she felt slightly faint.

Then she had gone back up the stairs, changed the baby's diaper, changed her own undergarments due to her bleeding, and then finally carried the baby downstairs and placed her in the bassinet.

 _Gosh, those steps are exhausting. Have there always been so many? I'll just sit here on the couch with her for a minute._

* * *

"Elizabeth?", Jack's voice was just above a whisper.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing down here?"

Elizabeth opened her eyes and looked at Jack in confusion. She looked around the front room and it took her a moment to remember that she had come downstairs. _I must have fallen asleep_.

"I came down to wash my hair. And get the soup ready for us. And do some household chores", Elizabeth explained as she shifted slightly on the couch, and looked at Jack who was holding the baby.

Jack looked at her in puzzlement. "But . . . your hair's not washed."

Elizabeth raised her hand to her messy hair. "Well, no it's not. I just didn't get around to that part yet."

Jack looked around the room. "And the household chores?"

"Umm. Well, dusting didn't seem like a good idea once I thought about it. You know, it might cause Jacklyn to start sneezing. You must agree with that, Jack."

"Yeah, good thinking". Jack looked around the room some more. "And the windows? I know you wanted to wash them last week and never got around to it."

 _Darn, he would remember that. Why didn't I wash the windows? . . . . Other than the real reason that I fell asleep._

Elizabeth wracked her brain for an answer.

"Jack, it obviously wouldn't make any sense to wash the windows today", she replied with a sudden smile.

"Why not?"

"Silly, because if I cleaned the inside which I had time to do and was about to do, the outside would still be dirty. And I couldn't clean the outside because no one was here to watch the baby if I went outside."

"So you mended my trousers instead? The ones with the rip in the knee?"

 _Darn! I could have done that while sitting here!_

"Umm. Well, I thought about doing that. But I didn't want to have a needle and scissors around the baby. It's important as a mother to remember to keep sharp objects away from children."

Jack gave her a curious look. "I thought that was when they're old enough to grab things."

"Oh no, Jack", Elizabeth countered knowingly. "It's a good practice to start from day one. No needles or scissors around the baby."

"Okay. I'll go get the soup you heated up. I'm starving" Jack said as he put the baby back into the bassinette and moved towards the kitchen.

 _The soup! I forgot to heat up the soup!,_ Elizabeth realized in a panic _. I didn't do anything!_

"Elizabeth, the soup's cold" Jack called out over his shoulder as he lifted the lid of the soup pot and touched the soup with his finger.

"Um, yes. It's meant to be cold. Cold soup."

"Cold soup?" he said skeptically.

"You know, Vichyssoise. It's French, Jack. I would think you would know about it.'

"I know what it is, Elizabeth. But Vichyssoise is made with thick cream and potatoes. This is chicken soup."

 _That's the problem with marrying a rich man – he knows too much!_

"This is a different type of Vichyssoise."

"A different type of Vichyssoise? Wouldn't that make it an entirely different soup?"

Elizabeth took the lid out of his hand. "I wouldn't expect you to understand. You're a Mountie, not a housewife. But if you absolutely refuse to eat it cold, I'll heat it up for you."

"So you didn't dust, or wash the windows, or mend my trousers, or heat up the soup?"

"Really, Jack. As I've told you before, the household is really my domain. Please don't interrogate me about it."

"Interrogate you?", he replied in surprise. "I'm not interrogating you."

Elizabeth shook her head in slight disdain. "Well, it certainly feels that way. In fact, this interrogation has left me awfully tired. I'm going to go upstairs and rest for a bit."

 **Up next: Chapter 57**


	57. Chapter 57 - The Birth Announcement

**Chapter 57 – The Birth Announcement**

A windswept Elizabeth struggled with the school papers before throwing them on the couch in the home's main room in frustration. She slammed the door shut behind her.

"The wind blew everything everywhere!" she whined as she removed a leaf from her hair and pushed her tousled tresses out of her face. "I had to scramble to pick up these when the wind grabbed some and blew them around."

"I'm sorry", Jack said as he looked up from the desk.

"I saw at least one blow off in the distance. Some student is either going to be very happy or very upset about that. And I tripped and got dirt on my skirt."

Jack smiled at Elizabeth as she angrily smacked her hand against her skirt in an effort to brush off the brown earth left by her clumsiness. "No need to punish yourself."

"Very funny", Elizabeth responded dryly. "I've had a horrible time. Who knew that a quick trip to the school could be so frustrating. None of my books and papers were where they were supposed to be. The pastor must have moved them for church services. It took me forever to find what I was looking for. And then I got a paper cut. The wind blew stuff everywhere. I fell."

Elizabeth sank down onto the couch next to the papers, causing some of the sheets to slide to the floor. "My first time away from the baby and instead of being relaxing, it was frustrating", she said tiredly. "How is she?" Elizabeth glanced at the bassinet, where her two-week-old daughter lay contently.

"She's fine. Come here. I'll make all your troubles disappear."

"Jack, you can't fix everything by kissing me."

"I was hoping to do a whole lot more than kissing", he responded suggestively as he stood up from his desk chair and approached Elizabeth.

"We can't do a whole lot more because we've got a little baby with us now," she reminded him.

When Jack picked up her hand and began inspecting it for a paper cut, Elizabeth gave a weak smile and allowed herself to enjoy the feeling of his closeness. When he found the barely noticeable slice in the skin of her ring finger, he tenderly kissed it. Allowing his lips to linger longer than necessary on the skin just above her wedding ring.

Jack glanced at their daughter who was waving her hands in the air as if she had just discovered the atmosphere around her bassinet. "She's been up for a while now. Maybe she'll fall asleep in a few minutes."

"Oh, I hope so", Elizabeth exclaimed with a deep hopeful sigh. "I could desperately use a nap of my own."

"A nap? So, I don't excite you anymore?" Jack teasingly questioned her with raised eyebrows as she leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes.

"Not for at least another four weeks."

"Well, then maybe this will excite you. A package from Hamilton. I haven't opened it yet. I was waiting for you." Jack crossed the room and picked up a small package which he carried over to her. An intrigued Elizabeth sat upright and took the package from him.

"It's from Lulu Nestor" Elizabeth said in puzzlement when she noticed the return address in the upper left hand corner.

"I'm guessing it's something for the baby."

"Oh my, it's in a blue Tiffany and Company box," Elizabeth announced after she had pulled away the twine and torn away some of the brown wrapping paper. She excitedly removed the box's lid, revealing the silver item nestled in a soft white cloth.

"It's beautiful. Totally impractical. But beautiful", Elizabeth gasped in wonder as she held up a four-inch silver baby rattle and noticed the baby's engraved monogram. "It has her initials! J -E -T!"

"Uh oh. That's not good."

"What do you mean?"

"When a journalist sends you an expensive present, it generally means they want to do an exclusive story on you or –" Jack's voice trailed off.

"Or what?" a startled Elizabeth asked, suddenly feeling anxious.

"Or she's already written the story and this is her way of mollifying you."

* * *

"Jack, I think you're wrong about Lulu sending that gift," Elizabeth said over her shoulder as she rinsed a dinner plate while Jack gently rubbed Jacklyn's back. He held the small infant against his strong chest, enjoying the way it made him feel to protect and comfort his daughter.

"I know her first article about me was disastrous. That whole stupid Cinderella angle. But her article about our wedding was nothing bad, even though she spent more time writing about you than me. I was the bride and she only wrote one sentence about me!"

"You were also missing for most of the reception", Jack reminded her. "I _was_ pretty dashing looking in my tuxedo."

Elizabeth smiled at the memory of Jack and how he had looked when they had danced together in the empty ballroom. The way he had touched her waist. How he held her gaze and told her how lucky he felt to be married to her. How he had leaned over and whispered in her ear _I love you. I cannot imagine my life without you._

"You were pretty dashing", she agreed.

"I'm always pretty dashing."

Elizabeth laughed, and then turned around to look at him. She leaned her back against the sink. She loved watching Jack holding their daughter. At five foot eleven, his length was 53 inches more than that of the little girl who was named after him. His weight of 175 pounds was more than seventeen times the infant's weight. And yet, he was as gentle as anyone could be with her.

"I'll be happy to say that I was wrong if Lulu's gift was just a nice gift", Jack added.

"I'm sure it was. She's said she admired my writing. She loved The Button story. It was probably just a gift from one writer to another. You know, friendship among us female writers."

"If you say so."

As Elizabeth turned her attention back to the sink, she missed Jack's worried expression.

* * *

Three days later, the letter arrived in the mail. The correspondence looked innocent enough. A slightly thick off-white colored envelope. Correct postage in the upper right hand corner. Return address from Hamilton. When Jack brought the envelope home, he had no way of knowing the reaction its contents would cause.

"Jack! You're back!" Elizabeth called out pleasantly as she walked down the staircase. She handed the baby to him less than two seconds after he had hung up his jacket on wall hook, gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and started towards the kitchen. "You hold her. I'll check on dinner."

"Yuck", Jack said when he felt the warmth of milk as his daughter spit up on him as he followed Elizabeth into the kitchen.

"Sorry", Elizabeth chuckled softly and immediately retrieved the infant. "We just had feeding time."

Jack took out a handkerchief and wiped at the wet spot on his shirt before reaching his other hand into his pocket and pulling out the envelope. "I'll exchange you one more time. You take this. I'll take the baby."

* * *

When Elizabeth pulled out the sheet of paper with the handwritten words, the enclosed newspaper clipping fell to the floor.

Jack gently kissed his baby's head and then, with one hand, deftly poured himself a cup of coffee, while Elizabeth's eyes scanned the letter.

"It's from your housemaid, Ashley. She's sends her congratulations on the baby. She says everything is fine at your home. . . . Your parents are thrilled with having a grandchild. . . . They're redecorating one of the rooms as a nursery for when we visit. They're also thinking of putting a shower into one of their bathrooms." Elizabeth looked up from the sheet of paper. "She was so nice to me when I first met your family and I felt all out of place. I'm glad she's kept in touch."

Elizabeth bent down and picked up the newspaper clipping from the floor. "Jack, it's our baby announcement. She enclosed a copy of our baby announcement."

"It's awfully long," Jack said in a suddenly worried voice as he looked at the article which took up two columns and was several inches in length.

"Well, you do come from an important family, and my story writing has gotten me some attention. I guess people are interested in our baby. I hope she got all the information right", Elizabeth said eagerly before she began to read.

 _ **Thornton Dynasty Continues**_

 _ **By Lulu Nestor**_

 **Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Thornton recently announced the arrival of their first grandchild, a female infant, who was born at home. Miss Jacklyn Elizabeth Thornton is the first child of their eldest son, Sergeant Jack Thornton, who currently resides at his official posting in Hope Valley.**

 **Sergeant Thornton was an active member of Hamilton society until he entered the Royal Northwest Mounted Police academy. Sergeant Thornton, who graduated first in his class at the Academy, is also co-owner of J and T Crates, Inc.**

 **The infant is the niece of Thomas Thornton, Jr., younger brother of Jack Thornton, vice president of Thornton Shipping, and co-owner of J and T Crates, Inc.**

 **In honor of the birth of their grandchild, Mr. Thornton, owner and president of Thornton's Shipping, generously gave his factory employees a half day off from work with full pay. "It's wonderful to see the beginning of another generation of the Thornton family", said Bob Pearson, a foreman at the company.**

 **Mrs. Thornton, noted philanthropist and advocate for education, announced that she would be hosting a ladies' tea to celebrate the joyful birth.**

 **The baby girl, who appears to have inherited her handsome father's hair color, is said to be in excellent health.**

"What's the matter?" Jack asked when he noticed Elizabeth pause and frown.

"She didn't mention me. She mentioned the baby, your father, your mother, your brother, you, and even the foreman at the shipping company. But not me."

"Well the story is about the baby so maybe she didn't want to include too many other people", Jack suggested hesitantly.

"I'm the mother!"

"I'm sure she'll mention you. Keep reading."

 **Miss Jacklyn Elizabeth Thornton will be added to the next annual publication of Hamilton Social Registry's, where she will join the ranks of other children of the city's prominent families. These young boys and girls will one day be the fashionable ladies and gentlemen who lead society.**

"Lead society? What is she talking about? What Registry?"

"It's just a list of wealthy prominent members of society."

"Are you in it?"

"Of course." Jack shrugged before continuing. "The Thornton family's in Burke's Peerage too."

"Burke's Peerage?"

"It's the definitive guide to genealogy and heraldry of the United Kingdom and Europe."

" You don't think it's strange to have a list like that?"

"It's just how it's done."

"Am I in it?"

"Well, not yet", Jack hesitated just a second before quickly adding. "But you will be."

"Why aren't I in it already? We've been married for over a year."

When Jack remained silent, as if thinking about how to respond, Elizabeth's eyes grew wide. "Oh, my goodness! Your family was waiting to see if this marriage would last, weren't they?!"

"Now, Elizabeth, calm down. I'm sure that's not it. Your name will be added as my wife in the next edition."

"It better be", Elizabeth mumbled.

"Keep reading," he encouraged with a nod to the newspaper clipping.

 **The baby is named after her father, who has been decorated by the Canadian government for his bravery. With classic good looks, expressive eyes, and lips that have made more than one woman swoon, Sergeant Thornton is more than just a handsome and polite gentleman. Always the consummate professional, he has received commendations for his capture of both the Tolliver gang and the Tate Brother gang, as well as his investigative skills in a counterfeiting scheme. His daughter is truly blessed to have him as her father.**

 **The child's mother is Elizabeth Thornton nee Thatcher, who was born the barefoot illiterate child of a poor family in the small town of Aberdeen in Saskatchewan**.

"All children are born barefoot and illiterate! For goodness sakes, she makes it sound like I was some strange anomaly."

"She mentioned you", Jack offered with a smile.

Elizabeth scowled at him before continuing to read.

 **Deciding to shun modern technology and a hospital, the baby's mother chose to have the child in her simple one bedroom coal mining house which is leased.**

"It's got _two_ bedrooms!"

"More like one and half. The baby's room's not much bigger than my mother's closet back home. In fact, I think it's smaller now that I think about it," Jack noted as he took a sip from his coffee cup.

" _Two_ bedrooms, Jack. And it's not a coal mining house! It's _our_ house! And I didn't _shun_ modern technology and a hospital. There isn't even a hospital within 20 miles of Hope Valley! How can I shun something that doesn't exist," she said angrily before turning her attention back to the article.

 **The Thornton home in Hope Valley is a far cry from the vast mansion in Hamilton which was the birthplace and home for years of Jack Thornton. On the night of Elizabeth's labor, the small row house seemed more like a Saloon than the proper place for the birth of a Thornton child.**

"A Saloon? What is she talking about?" a befuddled Elizabeth questioned.

 **The front porch of the home, with its beautiful blue painted ceiling, was the scene of lively entertainment and merriment on the eve of Jacklyn's birth. While awaiting the arrival of the Thornton heir, Elizabeth entertained a large gathering of town citizens on her front porch with plates of oatmeal cookies and jugs of apple cider**.

"I did what?!"

"You entertained town citizens with cookies and cider", Jack repeated before realizing the Elizabeth didn't really expect him to repeat what Lulu had written.

"I was in bed for hours! I had nothing to do with the people on the front porch. That was your doing!"

"There's no reason to point fingers", Jack said defensively. "I wanted people there to help if you needed it. For _you_."

" **We played poker 'til the wee hours of the morning", said one of the local town citizens, who chose to remain anonymous. When questioned about gambling at the Sergeant's home, the man added that in addition to card games of chance, there were betting pools on the time of arrival of the baby, as well as the gender of the baby, and the name choice. "The pots were getting pretty big", he remarked. "I'm not sure if Elizabeth knew who had bet on what times, but I thought the labor was a bit long."**

"Does he think I wanted a long labor?!"

 **While the sophisticated Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Thornton waited nervously in Hamilton for the birth of the first grandchild, the merry music of a fiddle filled the front porch of Jack and Elizabeth, where guests, in between the gambling and drinking, laughed and danced.**

"Fiddle music? Dancing? She can't make up lies like that. That's outrageous."

"Jack? Jack?", Elizabeth questioned when she noticed Jack had turned his back and was now searching through the cupboards in an effort to avoid her gaze.

"Jack, why did Lulu write that there was fiddle music and dancing while I was in labor?" Elizabeth asked sternly.

"Okay, look. I didn't mention it before because it didn't seem important, but while you were in labor, there was quite the . . . party going on outside."

"I heard people. But a fiddler?"

"I closed the window so it didn't bother you. It was Mr. Becker. He played extra loud when you were – you know. When you were screaming. To drown out your sounds so you didn't bother everyone having fun on the porch."

"So . . . I didn't bother the people on the front porch?! I was the one in labor! It was my house! _My_ tiny two bedroom rented row house! I was in labor!"

Elizabeth threw up her hands in frustration. "I can't read it. I can't read it anymore! She makes it seem like Jacklyn was born in some den of immorality!

"Keep reading. Maybe it gets better", Jack encouraged.

Elizabeth scowled but began reading again.

 **Prior to delivery, the baby's mother had briefly considered giving birth at a neighboring farm, and the couple was seen inspecting the barn just hours before deciding on a home birth.**

" **I'm just glad they had a daughter. I know how much Elizabeth wanted one. In fact, I was concerned at the amount of attention she wanted her husband to pay to my wife and whether we had a daughter a few months back", said the owner of the farm, whose brow furrowed in unease as he remembered the couple's multiple visits to his farm. "And honestly, I'm glad that they decided against giving birth in my barn. It would have disturbed my mare and her foal."**

"We were looking at the foal! Not inspecting the stall as a birth place, for Pete's sake. And you were the one that mixed up the foal's birth with his child's! **"**

"Hey, that was an innocent mistake!"

 **Elizabeth, her affection for detail honed by years of manual labor and clawing her way out of poverty, made a list of suitable midwives and others to help with the child's delivery. The list, which included her former fiancé,** **handsome charismatic cowboy and star of the rodeo circuit, Clint Blackthorn, was said to include more than twenty people.**

" **I've got years of experience delivering calves, so I expect Elizabeth knew I could help her", Mr. Blackthorn stated when asked about his placement on the list. "She ain't much different than a cow."**

"Why didn't she mention me? I was number four. I was five slots ahead of him on the list." Jack interrupted with a frown.

"That's what bothers you?! Clint referred to me as a cow, and you're bothered that Lulu didn't write that you were on my delivery list?!"

"Sorry", Jack said meekly. "How did she even know about the list?"

"She must have telegrammed people in town and asked for details. Maybe she had people in town on assignment for her!"

"Do you think people would do that?"

"She's sly, that Lulu Nestor. She can flatter people and trick people into revealing anything."

"Keep reading", Jack instructed as he nodded to the article.

 **The timing of the sweet child's arrival, just shy of nine months after her parents' extravagant wedding reception at the historic Dundurn Castle, is affirmation of the love between the couple.**

"Dear Lord!" Elizabeth gasped. "She didn't mention that we were married months before the wedding reception!"

"Is that important?"

"Jack! She makes it sound like we were -" Elizabeth gave a knowing nod of her head, " -before we were married."

"It does seem odd the way she worded it."

"We were already married when Jacklyn was conceived! We had been married for weeks! Months! Before our wedding reception! And I delivered two weeks early! She's made me look like I was pregnant when we got married!"

"Now, Elizabeth. Calm down. She doesn't actually say that."

"She said that Jacklyn was born just shy of nine months after our wedding reception! Anyone can do the math!"

"Let's just keep reading."

Elizabeth warily began reading again.

" **I still remember the day that she told the students about her pregnancy. The children were so excited for her** ", **recalls a town citizen who asked to remain anonymous. "I always was friendly with her, especially before she married up in life. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that I wasn't invited to the baby shower seeing as I'm not high society or nothing", added the woman sadly.**

"For goodness sakes! No one was invited to a baby shower!"

"Why was that again?"

"Because the baby came two weeks early! I never had a shower."

"Right. Now keep reading."

 **The baby's middle name was chosen to honor Queen Elizabeth, who reigned from 1558 until her death in 1603.**

"Queen Elizabeth?! She's named after me! She's not named after the queen. She's named after me!" Elizabeth yelled angrily.

Jack cringed at Elizabeth's voice and shrugged helplessly.

 **Jack, an attractive man of wealth, upper class, and the finest education, was captivated by his plain simple awkward wife from the first moment they met.**

"For Pete's sake! How many times is she going to call you attractive?! I thought she was over that by now!"

"It's hard for women to get over me. I am dashing." Jack said as he gently swayed back and forth holding the baby, who had fallen asleep in his arms.

"You didn't look so dashing with milk spit-up all of you earlier", Elizabeth reminded him as she returned her attention to the article and began reading again.

 **How will young Jacklyn live up to her father's name? Will she return to Hamilton where her father was raised to be a brave, honorable, and prominent member of society, or will she follow in the steps of her mother and become a small-town teacher? Only time will tell.**

Elizabeth feebly dropped her hand with the article as she came to its end. She shook her head in sad disbelief. "I can't believe that woman."

"Don't let Lulu rattle you."

Elizabeth stomped her foot when the realization came to her. "Why that – that -that woman! She knew exactly what she was doing! She sent Jacklyn an expensive baby rattle to appease me because she knew that article would get me rattled!"

"Now Elizabeth, it's just an article. One article", Jack said as he walked over and took the newspaper clipping from her hand. "A very poorly written article that no one reads."

"Everyone reads it! It's our baby's birth announcement! It's Jacklyn's birth announcement."

"You're taking this way too seriously."

"This is my reputation. Our daughter's reputation."

"It's just a baby announcement. It's not an indictment of criminal action."

"I'll get even with Lulu. Elizabeth murmured. "Always keep your opponent off-balance. I read that in The Art of War. "

"This is not war, Elizabeth. This is a gossipy writer who likes to write colorful stories."

"I just want everything for Jacklyn to be perfect", Elizabeth whined. "I want her life to be perfect. And now even her birth announcement is messed up. It's a scandalous piece of – oh, I don't know what it is."

"Jacklyn _is_ perfect. Look at her," Jack said as he nodded to his daughter in her arms. "She is an absolutely perfect healthy beautiful two-week old baby."

"She is pretty perfect", Elizabeth said, unable to hide her pride. "It's just –"

"Just nothing. I like the article", he said suddenly with vigor. "I think it's an eventful interesting way to have her arrival announced. I think it suits her."

"Suits her?!"

"Neither one of us followed the ordinary path expected of us. We have extraordinary lives. And so will our little girl. She deserves an extraordinary birth announcement", he said with a smile.

"It was _extraordinary_. I've never read another announcement like it", Elizabeth admitted with a shrug. "She managed to insult me, make you sound incredible, make it sound like Jacklyn was born in some kind of shack to a mother who wanted to give birth in a barn and then instead decided to host a gamblers' paradise on her front porch during labor."

Jack chuckled. "She made it sound like Jacklyn has two parents who lead an incredibly interesting life and love each other. And Elizabeth, we can't stop people from writing things about us. We know the truth. Our friends and family know the truth. And a silly article like that is not going to change anyone's opinion about you. At least not anyone's opinion that we care about. You are a wonderful teacher, wife, and mother. And the most important person in the world - this little girl - is going to know that."

"How do you always the know the perfect thing to say?"

"I could say a whole lot of other perfect things if they'll get you into bed with me."

Elizabeth chuckled and looked at their sleeping daughter who kept her eyes closed but gave a slight yawn.

"If you want me to, I'll write to the editor of the paper and demand a retraction and an apology", Jack, with his voice full of sincerity, offered as he looked at Elizabeth who was still gazing at their daughter.

As Elizabeth watched, the infant again involuntarily opened her tiny mouth wide and inhaled deeply. Elizabeth couldn't be sure but she wondered if perhaps her daughter wasn't tired but merely bored with the adult conversation around her. In fact, it seemed quite obvious that the little girl didn't care about the announcement of her birth at all. All she cared about was that she was warm and comfortable with a full belly.

"No, you're right. Everyone important knows who we really are."

"So I can just say perfect things to get you into bed?" Jack repeated with a smile.

"I think we are gonna have to whisper from now on", Elizabeth said softly.

"Maybe we shouldn't talk at all", Jack noted as he leaned in towards Elizabeth's lips for a kiss

 **Up next: Chapter 58**

 **Dear Readers, I hope it made you smile! I used some dialogue from three different episodes. Did you spot it?**


	58. Chapter 58 - Sweet Potato Pie Part 1

**Dear Readers, from time to time, reviewers will make a suggestion or even a criticism about something in a chapter. If you've ever done so, please re-read that chapter. I may just have agreed with you and made some changes! :)**

 **Chapter 58 – Sweet Potato Pie Part 1**

"Tell me again", Elizabeth encouraged as she leaned against Jack's chest. She and Jack were sitting on a blanket in the open field outside of town under the bright sunshine. The baby, who was wrapped in a plaid woolen blanket, was snuggled against Elizabeth's own chest.

Jack, his arms encircling Elizabeth, smiled. "I already told you."

"Tell me again. I like to hear it."

"Over there", he pointed across the way with his arm, "will be the kitchen."

"With an icebox?"

"With an icebox. And over there will be our parlor."

"With my writing desk?"

Jack smiled. "With your writing desk for your writing."

Elizabeth closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm sun on her face as she imagined their new home.

The land had been purchased months ago, and the couple had been diligently saving for building supplies.

On more than one occasion, Jack had suggested that he could use some of his family money and have their home built for them before the baby had even arrived, but Elizabeth had refused. She had a strong feeling that Jack, despite his offer, really wanted to build this house with his own hands and the money he had earned with his own labor. It made her love him even more - if that were possible. Which she suspected wasn't because she already loved him more than her own self.

"Over there will be two small bedrooms", Jack continued as he looked in the other direction towards the area where he had planned the rooms to be.

"Just two?"

"They'll have bunk beds."

"Ahh, so we'll have four little beds."

"Nope. _Two_ sets of bunk beds in each room. So, we'll have eight little beds."

Elizabeth laughed. "We are not having eight little ones. I'll agree to six because that's what the ladies in town say we're having. That wives' tale I told you about."

"I thought I'd sneak another two in there", he said with a sly grin. "And right here," Jack continued as he patted the grass by his side, "will be our bedroom."

"With our nice big feather bed?"

"With our nice big feather bed. Where we'll wake up every morning with the one with love."

Elizabeth, feeling comfortable against Jack's chest, didn't bother to open her eyes as she gave Jack a playful nudge with her elbow.

"According to you, with _lots_ of _ones_ we love. And those ones we love will probably be jumping on our bed for me to make breakfast and for you to play with them."

Jack tightened his arms around Elizabeth, hugging her to him. Enjoying holding his family in his arms.

"Now that the weather's warm and the ground is soft, we can start building. It will take a while, but I'm looking forward to it."

"I won't be much help," Elizabeth said quietly. She folded her body into his even more as she relaxed completely.

Jack chuckled. "I don't expect you to. This is man's work. I'm going to build my family a house. I'm pretty handy with a hammer now. I can handle the framing and walls, the windows, the floor, even the roof. And I'll get help from some of the guys in town when I need it. You just do the cooking and decorating. You'll finally have a place to put all those gifts we've been getting for the wedding and the baby. I promise to remember to build lots of closets and cupboard space."

When he didn't get an argument from Elizabeth about her duties being limited to cooking and decorating, Jack looked down at her face.

Her eyes were still closed and her breath was slow and steady as she succumbed to much needed sleep. Warmed by the afternoon sun and her husband's love.

* * *

Twenty-four hours later, Jack, the telegram in his pocket, stopped by Abigail's Café on his way home from his office. He stood in the kitchen while Abigail shoved two pans of meatloaf into the hot oven.

"You'll look after her?" he asked. While she had pressed the combination of meat and spices into metal pans, Jack had explained to her about his need to leave town for a week.

"Of course I will. Why? Are you worried?" An unconcerned Abigail moved to the kitchen table, picked up a large serrated knife, and began to slice loaves of bread as she readied the Café for the evening dinner crowd.

"She's a new mother", Jack replied with a shrug.

"She's a teacher. She's around two dozen children at school. She's perfectly capable of handling one small infant at home."

Jack picked up a piece of bread from the counter before Abigail had a chance to put it in a cloth-lined basket, and took a bite before talking again.

"She hasn't gotten a lot of sleep since the baby. I know she doesn't sleep more than two hours at a time. It's making her distracted. She packed me a lunch today and I found a pair of socks in there."

"She's preoccupied", Abigail said with a smile. "That's to be expected."

"The other morning before I got dressed for work, I caught a skunk going through our trash. When I went back upstairs, I told Elizabeth that I had chased away a skunk in my pajamas and you know what she said?"

"What?"

"Why in the world was a skunk wearing your pajamas?"

Abigail chuckled. "Lack of sleep can befuddle the mind. She'll be fine."

"Just keep an eye on her for me?"

"I will. I promise."

* * *

Jack hated the idea of leaving Elizabeth and Jacklyn but it wasn't totally unexpected. His job at Hope Valley had always included traveling to the outlying areas as well as making monthly visits to two other towns which didn't have their own law enforcement.

He would have liked to delay his trip for a few more weeks - at least until Jacklyn was more than a month old - but the telegram requested his assistance as soon as possible.

Jack took the undershirt from Elizabeth's outstretched hand and set it on the bed with the other two.

"I got a telegram from Steel Forge, about 100 miles north of here. The temperature's dropped more than thirty degrees in the last two days. I also got one from Elkton; there's definitely a cold snap headed this way."

"It's got to be 70 degrees today. It's beautiful. We had that wonderful picnic yesterday."

"I know but it's going to get very chilly. I brought some extra wood inside for you. There's enough for both the stove and the fireplace. I stacked it next to both places."

Jack moved round the room, taking pairs of thick socks from his dresser drawer. He shoved them into his saddlebag and then added the undershirts. "It's supposed to be very windy too. Looks like you'll be needing your winter coat again."

"I'm glad I didn't start the garden yet."

Jack paused in his packing and looked at Elizabeth, who was now holding up and inspecting his jacket in front of the window as she brushed away imaginary lint from the wool.

"I'm sorry."

"About what?" Elizabeth turned and looked at him curiously.

"I have to go. You're going to be okay, right?"

"It's fine. I don't expect you to stay home all the time just because we have a baby."

"I know. I don't want to go. I have to."

"Seriously, Jack. Its fine." Elizabeth set the red serge jacket on the bed. "I'm going to see if I have enough food to pack you a decent lunch for tomorrow."

As Elizabeth walked past him, she glanced at Jacklyn who was asleep in the bassinet, and then innocently yawned.

When Jack noticed Elizabeth's tired look, he thought about the letter he had received from his mother that morning. He hadn't shown it to Elizabeth. Although he normally showed her all of his correspondence, Jack had decided to withhold this one from her. He had a feeling that Elizabeth would call the letter rubbish.

 _It's just nonsense_ , he told himself and tried to put the letter out of his mind.

But he couldn't stop thinking about what his mother had told him. That some women become overwhelmed and depressed after childbirth. Jack wasn't surprised by that – he had seen how exhausting being a new mother could be. The constant washing and changing of diapers. The feeding every two hours. No time to tend to oneself. The lack of sleep. A baby's crying.

 _Jacklyn never cries_ , he reminded herself.

 _She's a perfect baby_.

Jack had even mentioned it to Abigail the other day. How Elizabeth was so in tune with the baby, that the small infant never even had to cry when she was hungry. She merely started sucking on her tiny fist and Elizabeth – never fully unaware of her daughter- jumped up from whatever she was doing – even sleeping - and tended to the baby.

"It's like their bodies are in sync," Jack had explained to Abigail in pleasant surprise. "Jacklyn's body tells her that she's hungry and Elizabeth's body tells her that its time to feed her. I don't even hear the baby at night. Elizabeth must never be totally asleep – always napping with her ears ready to pick up the smallest sound made by Jacklyn."

Jack finished packing his bag and thought more about his mother's letter; he couldn't get it out of his mind. Most particularly, her writing him about one of their neighbors' maids. In a fit of depression and exhaustion, the overworked and sleep-deprived maid had smothered her own one-month old child.

It had apparently been in all the newspapers in Hamilton. Quite scandalous, his mother had said. When the maid had been arrested, she had tearfully, and often in a daze, argued that it had been an accident. That she couldn't remember doing it. But the authorities apparently felt that it had been intentional. The baby had simply become too much for her to handle.

Jack set the saddlebag on the floor by the bedroom door and headed downstairs.

His mother's suggestion that, over Elizabeth's refusal, he should hire both a wet nurse and a baby nurse for the infant, weighed on him only momentarily until he reminded himself that this was Elizabeth he was dealing with.

 _It's rubbish. Elizabeth would never hurt a baby, even if she were sleep-deprived. She's a perfect mother already. And she'd tell me if she were overworked and needed help._

* * *

"I left our adorable little sweet potato pie asleep upstairs," Jack said as he walked into the kitchen.

Elizabeth smiled as she used one hand to hold Jack's canteen under the faucet, and used her other hand to pump cool water into it. "Sweet potato pie? Where did that come from?"

"I dunno know." Jack shrugged. "I just thought of it."

"She looks nothing like sweet potato pie. She's not orange . . . or mushy."

"Fine. Then how about Little J? Or Jackie?"

"How about Jacklyn Elizabeth Thornton? Her given name."

Elizabeth twisted the cap on the canteen, reached for a second canteen, and held it under the faucet as Jack, without being asked, began moving the pump up and down causing a rush of water to flow out of it.

"It's too formal for something so tiny. She needs a nickname."

"Are you going to nickname all our children after food?"

"Maybe. I named you jellybean."

Elizabeth chuckled and Jack stopped pumping as the water overflowed from the narrow mouth of the now full canteen. "Well my handsome Mountie, you just come home soon, okay."

"I'm sure Hope Valley can get along without me for a few days."

"I couldn't. Jacklyn and I couldn't."

"Sure you could." Jack paused and gazed seriously at Elizabeth. "Elizabeth, you told me upstairs that you'd be fine. That it was okay that I was leaving for a few days."

Elizabeth saw the worry in Jack's eyes.

"You're right", she said in a suddenly upbeat voice. "I'm just going to miss you. You know I always get sentimental when you leave town. Silly sentimental me." Elizabeth gave Jack a wide smile. "Now let's make sure you've packed everything."

As Elizabeth moved past Jack, he reached out his hand and gently grasped her arm. Without saying anything, he lowered his lips to hers. The kiss, tender at first, became more passionate as Jack thought about leaving for the week.

"You're everything to me. You know that, don't you?" he said solemnly when they finally separated.

Elizabeth chuckled. "I highly doubt that. Have you forgotten about your little namesake upstairs?"

"Oh, yeah. You're right. _She's_ everything to me now. You're just second fiddle. Actually, third, if I count Rip", he said as he pretended to think about it.

"Rip?!"

"I have lived with him longer. We've got a relationship," Jack explained in a deadpan voice but with a gleam in his eye. Elizabeth looked at him indignantly, before she giggled and went upstairs to check on Jack's number one priority, allowing Jack to chase her up the steps.

* * *

"Sometimes I feel like I'm losing myself."

"What do you mean?" Abigail asked as she finished filling Elizabeth's tea cup the next afternoon. They were in Elizabeth's kitchen sharing the quiet time before Abigail had to get to the Café to start making dinners. Abigail had insisted that Elizabeth sit down for a few minutes and let the pile of laundry wait to be finished.

"In the cupboard on the right", Elizabeth instructed with a nod across the room. Abigail reached into the crowded cupboard, and pushed aside an expensive silver gravy boat before finding the sugar bowl. She brought it to the table, sat down, and waited for Elizabeth to continue talking.

"I wander around the house trying to remember what I'm doing. Stepping over boxes of things that don't fit in this place. The other day I started to go downstairs to grab a diaper and by the time I got to the bottom of the steps, I couldn't remember what I needed. So, I went to the kitchen to get a cup of tea, but I got distracted by the dirty dishes in the sink. So, then I started to wash them, but then realized that the dishtowels were on the laundry line outside. So, I went to get one. When I came back inside with the dishtowel, Jack was standing there holding Jacklyn and asking if I had found a diaper. I had totally forgotten!"

Abigail set down her tea cup and spoke sympathetically. "I think every mother's been there. The first weeks – months even – can be exhausting. How's she sleeping?"

"Barely at all. But I can't stand the idea of putting her outside."

"Outside?"

"There are a lot of Nordic people back home in Aberdeen. They always leave their babies outside in the cold to nap."

"In the cold?!"

"They say that's how it's done in the old country. Sven, the old blacksmith, said cold air is supposed to help babies sleep." Elizabeth answered knowingly but with a shrug indicating she didn't put much stock in the tradition. "My ma always said it was stupid. That some fox was liable to jump right up onto the front porches and steal the baby while the family's inside eating pickled herring and meatballs."

"I have to agree with your ma. I definitely don't recommend leaving the baby outside, but you've got to sleep when the baby sleeps."

"I can't. I still have household chores to do. And I've got to prepare lessons. I can't keep having the students do book reports and projects forever. And now I've got this darn kitten."

"Explain that to me again", Abigail said with a curious smile as she looked over at the tiny creature in a box on the floor.

"Timmy Marson brought four kittens to school and –"

"To school? Elizabeth, you didn't start teaching class again, did you?" Abigail looked with concern at her friend. "It hasn't even been a month since you gave birth."

"No. I just had all the children stop by this morning so I could pass out some assignments and collect essays. Timmy showed up with the box of kittens. He said if he didn't get rid of them, his pa was going to drown them. What could I do? The other three got taken and this orange bundle of fur was left. I had to take it."

"Do you really think Mr. Marson would have drowned it?"

"I'm not sure. And Timmy was so tearful, I wasn't about to find out. I decided to name it Sweet Potato Pie."

"That's an odd name."

"Jack was throwing the name around earlier. And the kitten is orange and kind of squishy mushy so it fits her."

"What do you think Jack will say?"

"I'm hoping he won't notice it until the new house is built and we have more room. Maybe he won't see a little kitten running around," Elizabeth said as she half-heartedly tried to convince herself it was possible for her husband to not notice a feline wandering the home and meowing for attention.

Abigail smiled. "You're married to a Mountie. He's trained to notice things."

"Between a house overflowing with me, the baby, the dog, and a now a kitten, Jack may just run for the hills. Maybe you can tell him for me?" Elizabeth suggested.

* * *

Jack wished that he hadn't noticed the stirring out of the corner of his eye as he sat by the roaring blaze of wood. But he had. Now his stomach turned in disgust.

He was sitting at his campsite in the late afternoon. Warming his hands and drinking coffee from a tin cup. It was then that he had seen the movement of the fox in the underbrush.

At first, Jack assumed it was eating a mouse or some other small animal. It was only when the fox ran off in fear, that Jack realized the animal had been eating one of her young.

He had heard about the phenomenon. While not common, some mothers, out of stress or hunger, ate their own young.

* * *

Jack had been gone two days and a hungry Elizabeth was overwhelmed _._

 _I can't go on like this,_ she thought as tears filled her eyes.

She plopped her body onto the bed and wiped the wetness from her cheeks. The day had been a disaster.

It had begun with breakfast when a sleep-deprived Elizabeth realized that she had given the last of the milk in the icebox to the kitten and had none left for her own cereal or morning coffee. It had only gotten worse since then.

In between tending to the baby and grading essays, the laundry, which she had never gotten to yesterday, needed to be washed and hung up to dry.

With the sudden onset of cold weather, Elizabeth had decided to dry the clothes in the kitchen rather than face the wind and sleet which seemed to be lurking in the clouds, ready to attack at any moment.

After stretching the "winter line" from the hook on one wall of the kitchen to the other, she had draped the laundry, or hung it with the wooden clothes pins, until she couldn't look anywhere in her tiny kitchen and not see a diaper, pair of socks, a shirt, or some other piece of apparel.

Unfortunately, the kitten had found the clean hanging laundry to be an irresistible attraction.

After setting down Little Jack- as Elizabeth found herself calling her baby daughter – for a nap, Elizabeth had walked back into the kitchen to find the orange-colored feline pulling down a freshly washed shirt and adding it to the large pile of laundry which now littered the floor.

All of that would have been bad enough, but the wind had later blown a tree limb into the parlor window, causing a crack in the glass, and allowing cold air to seep into the home.

And then, Elizabeth had dropped a log on her foot while trying to replenish the fire to warm the home.

By the time Elizabeth had cleaned the baby after a messy diaper, re-hung the laundry, filled the pot-belly stove and fireplace with new logs, taped a piece of cloth over the broken window, and realized that Rip was whimpering and always seeming to be underfoot because Elizabeth had forgotten to feed him since yesterday afternoon, Sweet Potato Pie – every bit a curious cat - had jumped onto the desk and scattered Elizabeth's schoolwork across the floor.

Now, a tired and hungry Elizabeth sat on the mattress in her room rubbing her still sore foot. She looked at her small daughter lying next to her on the mattress. It was bedtime and Elizabeth realized that she had somehow missed dinnertime for herself.

 _Forget it. I'll eat in the morning. I don't want to go back downstairs and make something._

It was then that Elizabeth realized that the bassinet was downstairs where she had brought it earlier in the day.

 _It doesn't matter. The baby barely seemed to sleep in it anyway, preferring to wake up every two hours._ _I'd just have to bring it back down again tomorrow. Up and down the stairs. Up and down._

Elizabeth briefly thought about keeping the baby in bed with her but she was worried that in her tired state she might accidentally roll over on her. Or else the baby would have trouble breathing under the bed's feather-filled covers.

 _Darn, I guess I need to go get the bassinet after all._

Elizabeth wasn't looking forward to another sleepless night. _But I am not putting her outside to sleep. Oh, Jack, I wish you were home._

As she started limping to the stairs, Elizabeth moved passed the tall wooden dresser and suddenly had a thought.

 _The dresser drawer! It might just work._

* * *

Jack, wearing long underwear, set the black and white photograph of Elizabeth onto the top of the hotel's dresser before heading to the room's simple single bed. As he pulled the cheap blanket around him, he hoped Elizabeth and Jacklyn were having a good night's sleep. The telegrams he had received earlier had been right about the change in weather, and he was glad to have had the advanced warning about the cold front.

 _They'll have plenty of wood to keep the house warm. They're probably snuggled in the bedroom right now. Elizabeth in our bed. Jacklyn in her bassinet._

Jack fell asleep with images of his family in his mind. But as his sleep became deeper and his eyes shifted in the rapid movement of a dream, the sweet images were replaced with those of the mother fox eating its young, of the maid in Hamilton from his mother's letter, and of a tired Elizabeth. The thoughts becoming muddled as they twisted together as if being blown in the wind.

 **Up Next: Part 2**


	59. Chapter 59 - Sweet Potato Pie Part 2

**Chapter 59 – Sweet Potato Pie Part 2**

Elizabeth slept wonderfully. If she had any dreams, she didn't remember them.

Naturally she had woken up to feed the baby. But instead of waking up every two hours, little Jacklyn had slept for three hours at a time. A miracle to a new mother.

It seemed that having the infant sleep in the dresser drawer placed on the mattress next to Elizabeth had done the trick. Elizabeth's hand, which she had gently kept on the baby's chest throughout the night, had made both of them feel secure. Elizabeth no longer jolted awake wondering if the baby was still breathing, and the baby no longer awoke due to missing her mother's touch.

* * *

Jack woke up in the hotel's small single bed and looked to his side. The side where his wife should be. He missed her.

He thought about the last kiss they had shared before he left on this trip.

He loved all his kisses with her. But the ones just before he left town always did something to him. They were passionate in a way that made him wish that they were the only two people around. Ever. That there was nothing to disturb them.

He loved her lips. Her warm mouth. They way she would whimper or moan when he finally released her.

It didn't matter if they were on their front porch, at the livery, at the school house, or even in the center of town. When he kissed her goodbye, he felt such longing and passion he wanted to make love to her right where they were standing.

* * *

The last physical reminder of the connection between Elizabeth and Jacklyn fell off on Wednesday morning. Since the baby's birth, Elizabeth had diligently used rubbing alcohol to clean the area of the baby's abdomen where the placenta had been connected. When the umbilical cord stump had finally come off, Elizabeth smiled at the milestone.

"You're growing up, my little girl", she said proudly as she kissed the girl.

Elizabeth knew that some American Indians, believing that the umbilical cord stump would provide protection throughout life, buried it or saved it. But she had no intention of doing that.

"We certainly don't need to save a disgusting piece of human tissue to protect us. We have your daddy. He's a Mountie", she informed her daughter.

* * *

Hours later, as Jack finished his Mountie duties and started to make his way back home, two women in Hope Valley walked down the center of the street. They were followed by one of Elizabeth's students, who was struggling to carry a large package which was wrapped in thick brown paper and tied with twine.

"What do you think is in the package?" Abigail asked as she shoved her own mail – just a few envelopes - into her coat pocket and shivered against the cold.

"I'm not sure. But considering that it's from Hamilton, I'm guessing it's something expensive. Do you know, we are still getting wedding presents in addition to baby presents?"

"Wedding presents? Still?"

"According to etiquette, a guest has one year from the reception to send a gift. This is probably another china place setting or a crystal vase."

"I'm sure that whatever it is it's gorgeous."

"I know. We just are running out of room for all this stuff. And honestly, we may never use half of it. It's not like I routinely make twelve course dinners with candlesticks and chafing dishes. Last week I got a silver soup tureen that could easily hold enough soup for twenty people."

"I could use something like that at the Café," Abigail joked. "I'd just put it on one table and make everyone serve themselves."

"Speaking of dinners, do you have anything to make duck taste better?" Elizabeth asked as she cradled Jacklyn to her chest in an attempt to shelter her from the blowing wind.

"Better?"

"Less ducky. The Wilsons dropped off a duck to thank Jack for some help he had given them. I figured I'd make him a nice dinner, but honestly, I don't like duck. It's all the dark meat."

Abigail pulled her coat closer against her and shivered against the cold. "White wine. Cook it in some wine and it will be delicious. I promise. A good wine sauce can help any fowl taste better. Even pigeon. And if you don't like it, you can always give it to your new kitten."

"If she's still alive. That animal has gotten herself into more trouble. She's almost been stepped on by a horse, she tumbled down the staircase, and she knocked the toothbrush holder onto her head. I swear it's true that cats must have nine lives. She's driving me crazy."

Abigail chuckled. "I don't envy you."

Abigail abruptly stopped walking and turned to Elizabeth, who also stopped moving in response. The older woman looked at Elizabeth with sudden sincerity.

"Actually, I do envy you a bit. You have a wonderful life, Elizabeth. Jack and you have a wonderful family. You're a terrific mother. Anyone can see that. I am so happy for you two."

Elizabeth put her hand on Abigail's arm. "Thank you. I do have a wonderful life. I love Jack and Jacklyn so much. And I love making a home." Elizabeth smiled happily. "Jack says I've been _nesting_ since we got married."

* * *

Jack pulled his collar up around his neck as he tried to keep his body warm in the chilly air.

He bent his head down just in time to avoid an injury as his horse passed under a tree limb. When Jack caught sight of a small nest tucked into the tree, it took him just a moment to remember the name of the bird which was perched on the edge of the twig-made structure.

Cuckoo.

Jack recognized the long tail which the birds used for steering in flight.

He kicked his horse gently to urge it to pick up its pace, and remembered what else he knew about Cuckoos.

The small birds were some of nature's worst mothers.

From what Jack had learned at the academy's short class on edible and non-edible flora and fauna, the female cuckoo enjoyed life as a single female more than her life as a mother. For that reason, she would lay her eggs in the nest of another bird. Forcing that bird to raise her young. And allowing herself to have a carefree life of flying from male bird to male bird.

The more he thought about it, the more Jack realized that human mothers don't have it easy. He suddenly had a new-found appreciation for the holiday of "Mother's Day" that some places were starting to recognize.

Jack kicked his horse again, pursed his lips, and made a loud kissing sound to get the animal to pick up its pace even more.

As the horse came to an open field and changed its gait, Jack hoped that Elizabeth knew he was joking when he said that Jacklyn was his number one priority.

 _I love them both. I'm sure she knows that_ , he convinced himself.

* * *

The wind was blowing even harder, pushing through the thin walls of the row house.

When Elizabeth walked from room to room, she could feel the cold air easily finding its way through the cracks under the doors and where the window panes fit into their frames. She shuddered and pulled her sweater closer.

Walking past the thermometer affixed to the parlor room's windowpane, she noticed that the ball of mercury had dropped another ten degrees since yesterday's already sudden drop. It was getting harder and harder to keep the house warm. Especially with the damp weather and wind.

Elizabeth glanced at the baby in her arms and then towards the kitchen. The kitchen was the warmest room in the house if she kept the stove going. It was also safer to keep the baby near the stove rather than the near fireplace where a spark might escape over the hearth.

 _This isn't that hard_ , Elizabeth thought. _It's just a matter of organization. A dresser drawer in the bed. The bassinet in the parlor. Hmm. Something for the kitchen. I just need to find a secure place for Jacklyn to stay warm while I'm doing chores. Especially while I'm hobbling on my hurt foot._

* * *

The wind slammed the livery door shut behind Jack and he hurried down the street.

When he came to Abigail's Café, he decided to stop inside and pick up dinner to take home. It would be a nice surprise for a deserving Elizabeth. Especially after she had been managing the home by herself all week.

Ten minutes later, Jack, now carrying a bag with fried chicken, made his way through the crowded Café to the door, thanked Clara, and headed home. He would have liked to talk to Abigail and thank her for keeping an eye on Elizabeth but she was far too busy in the kitchen.

* * *

Elizabeth was sitting on the couch with a pile of diapers on her lap and resting her sore foot when she heard the turning of the front door knob. She looked up in pleasant surprise when the door opened. "You're home!"

"I am." Jack replied with a smile. "And just in time. It's freezing outside. It's starting to sleet."

Elizabeth smiled broadly when she saw the bag in Jack's hand and smelled the spicy aroma. "I see you've been to Abigail's."

"I have. And I have a delicious meal for us. But first, how's our sweet potato pie?"

"She drank all my milk", Elizabeth grumbled as she looked at her cup of black coffee on the end table.

Jack's brows furrowed in confusion; he had thought that Elizabeth's body would make whatever the baby needed. "Can't you just make some more?"

"No, I can't just make some more", Elizabeth replied with disgust. "Do I look like a cow?"

"I didn't mean to insinuate that you're a cow. I'm sorry. I don't know much about these things."

"I certainly hope you know the difference between your wife and cow. You haven't been gone that long," she teased.

Jack glanced at the bottle of wine on the end table and saw that it was half empty.

"What's the wine for?" he asked curiously as he took off his jacket and hung it up. "You weren't expecting me home this early."

"It's to get me through dinner. A few shots and apparently, anything fowl I make will taste delicious."

Jack paused, wondering if Elizabeth was having some kind of post pregnancy hormonal issues. _Anything foul she makes?_ _What does that mean?_

 _Maybe she's feeling overwhelmed and depressed like the women that mother wrote about._

 _Why would she need to drink to get through the evening? And why isn't she coming over here to greet me? She always jumps up to greet me. What's been going on while I was gone?_

"Sounds like you need a hug," he offered as he walked over to his wife and leaned down.

"Hey, how'd you get that scratch?" he asked when he saw her neck.

"That would be our little sweet potato pie. She scratched me. Look at my chest."

Elizabeth accepted a kiss from Jack and then pulled away the top of her blouse, exposing more marks on the otherwise pale skin of her chest.

"She refused to let me put her down," Elizabeth explained somewhat bitterly.

"How did she do that?!" Jack asked in bewilderment when he looked at the deep red lines which were several inches in length.

"Those little claws of hers."

"They're not claws! They're nails."

"When they scratch you, you'll call them claws", Elizabeth said with a shrug as she put aside a diaper, and picked up another one.

"Can't you just clip them."

"She's too squirmy." Elizabeth shook her head in disgust. "Silly little creature."

"Elizabeth, I'm so sorry that I was gone." Jack worriedly apologized as he stared at his wife, and a sudden image of the mother Cuckoo bird came to mind.

"It's not your fault." Elizabeth set down the diaper she was folding. She sighed deeply before speaking again.

"I'm having second thoughts about keeping her."

Jack gave an uneasy chuckle. "Very funny."

"I'm serious, Jack. She's too much trouble."

Jack didn't chuckle again but looked questioningly at his wife.

"She's a newborn. She's needs attention", he reminded her gently.

"She's a pain in the ass."

"Elizabeth!"

Jack took a deep breath before speaking again. "Did you get any sleep?"

"I did. I just put Jacklyn in a dresser drawer. After that, we slept beautiful. Barely a peep out of her."

"A dresser drawer?!"

"Don't look so concerned, I didn't put her in with your expensive shirts with buttons. Goodness, I'm not that careless. She could have ripped the buttons off."

"You put her in a dresser drawer?!"

"It was that or put her outside on the front porch. And really, that didn't seem as safe to me. I don't care what the Norwegians do. For Pete's sake, what does Sven know about babies."

"Who is Sven?" a puzzled Jack asked as he watched Elizabeth bend down and pick up a dropped sock from the floor.

"The babies' father."

"What baby's father?" His voice rose shrilly in total confusion. " _Our_ baby's father?!"

"Don't be silly, Jack. What in the world has gotten into you? He's the blacksmith in Aberdeen. Well, he used to be the blacksmith. He's probably retired by now."

"What the hell are you talking about?!"

Elizabeth looked startled by Jack's demeanor. "I'm talking about cold air and babies. Jack, have you eaten today? You seem to be a bit edgy", she asked with concern.

" _I_ seem to be a bit edgy?!"

"Yes, you do." Elizabeth stood up from the couch and reached for the bag which Jack had set down on the end table. "I'll get dinner ready on some plates. Maybe I'll make something to go with it. You're probably starving and tired after your trip."

"You called her a _creature_! YOU DON'T WANT TO KEEP HER! I don't need something to eat! I need you - I need you to –"

Jack raked his hand through his hair and stopped talking when he realized he didn't know what to say.

How do you tell your wife that you need her to be a better mother?

"Be careful where you step", Elizabeth remarked when Jack started to cross the room. "I broke a china plate earlier today. I think I got most of it. We had a little accident."

Jack's head jerked around at her words. "Accident?"

"Let's just say someone almost lost her life due to my anger. Several times."

"Almost lost her life?" he asked in confusion.

The mental picture of a female fox eating its young filled Jack as he looked at Elizabeth who seemed totally nonchalant and at ease.

"Don't look so upset." Elizabeth waived her hand dismissively. "Gosh, we have at least five more little lives to go through. It's not like one or two matter."

Jack looked at his wife in horror _. My Lord, does she honestly think that because we're going to have six children, some of them are excess?! That Jacklyn doesn't matter because we'll have five more after her?!_

Before a shocked Jack could think of what to say to Elizabeth, Rip padded across the room and stopped in front of his owner.

With the air of someone bringing a present, the dog deposited a small purple shriveled piece of human tissue at Jack's feet.

Feeling a sense of alarm, Jack realized that it looked oddly like a baby's tiny finger.

"What is that?" he asked nervously as he bent down to look at the object. He refused to touch it as he felt himself begin to gag. _It looks like a finger! A dried shriveled up baby's finger!_

"Part of your daughter."

"Part of my daughter?" Jack said in a strangled voice.

"It fell off her while you were gone. I suppose I could have buried it where our new home is going to be. But I didn't think you'd care so I just threw it in the trash. Rip must have picked it out. Could you please throw it out again?"

"You threw part of our daughter in the trash", Jack's voice now trailed off in despair. _My baby's limbs are falling off!_

When Elizabeth just smiled at Jack's sentimental nature, Jack wondered if the smile was strangely sinister and accusatory considering her next words. "You're the Mountie. You're supposed to protect her."

 _I should never have left town! My God, what has she done?!_

Jack, his mind overwhelmed with what could have possibly happened when he was out of town, stood there dazed. He initially ignored the pricking on his leg but, finally, the sharp points caused him to look down.

"What is the world is that?" he asked when he saw the feline's front paws stretched against his boot. The tip of her claws digging into his pants leg just above the top of the boot.

"That's Sweet Potato Pie." Elizabeth frowned and gave Jack a curious look. "I thought you knew. You said you were at Abigail's."

 _She's delusional! Elizabeth has become delusional due to a lack of sleep! My wife has lost her mind! She thinks that cat is our baby,_ Jack thought in despair.

"Elizabeth, where is our DAUGHTER? WHERE IS JACKLYN? Our little GIRL", he asked as he desperately tried to suppress the fear which was on the brink of overtaking him.

"She's taking a nap."

Jack swiftly glanced at the empty bassinet by the couch and then back at Elizabeth.

"Not there. When the limb hit the window, it cracked the glass and –"

Before she could say anything more, Jack turned and sprinted upstairs. Praying to find his daughter with most of her limbs still attached.

Ten seconds later, he came running back down. His feet pounding on the wooden steps.

"Where is she?! Where's the baby?!" Jack no longer tried to hide the anxiety and urgency in his voice.

"She's in the soup tureen in the kitchen," Elizabeth answered pleasantly as she opened the dinner bag and inhaled the aroma of the fried chicken and then looked curiously at Jack. _My goodness, he's a bit anxious after his trip out of town._

"In the SOUP TUREEN?!"

"She fits perfectly. . . . I got all her limbs in there and she's staying nice and warm", Elizabeth explained when Jack stared at her in horror.

"It was better than the chafing dish!" she called out helpfully as Jack ran past her. "Don't trip over it!"

* * *

When a perplexed Elizabeth, who was slower than Jack due to her injured foot, walked into the kitchen, she found him sitting on the floor and cradling his perfectly healthy daughter in his arms.

The baby girl was waving her four limbs around and wondering why she had suddenly been awoken from her peaceful nap near the warm pot-belly stove.

"Jack, is everything alright?" Elizabeth asked cautiously. "Was your trip okay?"

"I – I – I just missed you two, that's all."

Elizabeth smiled. "We missed you too."

* * *

Four hours later, Jack, his back propped up by his pillow, turned a page in his book, moving it carefully so he didn't disturb the infant sleeping on his chest.

He glanced at Elizabeth who was sound asleep next to him with her body curled up on her side. Her hair was twisted into a braid but several loose waves had already fallen out. The top of her nightgown was still undone from when she had fed the baby and then handed the small girl to Jack.

The small kitten with her fluffy orange-colored fur was pressed against Jack's other side.

Rip was snoring on the floor by the foot of the bed.

Jack looked around the room and then gently kissed his daughter on the top of her head.

 _How did this happen?_ he wondered with a smile. _A wife, a baby, a dog, a kitten. A home_. _How'd I get so incredibly lucky._

 _If I could just figure out what Elizabeth is talking about half the time, life would be perfect._

He looked again at his wife. _Nah, I think it already is perfect._

 **Up next: Chapter 60**


	60. Chapter 60 - Courting

**Chapter 60 – Courting**

Things were different. There was no denying that. They had stopped kissing.

Jack and Elizabeth had stopped kissing.

Oh, there was still the peck on the cheek when he came home from work. And there was still the quick touch of their lips at bedtime. But the passionate kisses – the ones that made Elizabeth long to feel Jack's body on hers were gone. The kisses that made Jack wish they were alone –just the two of them in bed - those kisses were gone.

At first, in the days after the baby's birth, Elizabeth had been far too tired and sore to be interested in anything physical with Jack. And then, when she had begun to think about him in their bed, she had remembered that it hadn't yet been six weeks -the time of abstinence prescribed by the doctor.

In those weeks, Jack had kissed her passionately. Long kisses which made her yearn for more, but they both knew that it wouldn't go any farther, so they had pulled away from each. Smiling. Laughing that this would be the longest time they would be apart since their wedding.

But then, at five and a half weeks, Jack had stopped with the passionate kisses. Those same kisses which he had given so freely when he knew that they wouldn't lead to anything had suddenly stopped. Days had gone by without Elizabeth savoring his taste.

And she had no idea why.

* * *

Elizabeth looked at her reflection in the mirror above her dresser as she finished brushing her hair. She picked up a hair comb and used it to hold back a twist of hair.

 _I know I said that I needed a good night's sleep, but I didn't mean I never wanted to have sex again. He hasn't even tried anything lately. What is the matter with him?! It's been seven weeks since the baby!. . . I am not going to start anything. He'll think I'm some hussy. And . . . . . maybe we should wait longer anyway. I don't know how it will feel after the stitches. And I certainly don't want to get pregnant . . . but that's not likely to happen if I'm breastfeeding. Oh, I don't know what to do!_

Jack looked at his reflection in the mirror above his bowl on the dry sink as he lathered the shaving cream on his jawline.

 _Maybe she doesn't even want to do it again because of her hormones and body changes. I am not going to be some jerk of a husband that jumped on her the minute the six weeks was up_.

 _Maybe she's not ready. Who knows if she's healed. And . . . . really, she's said that she wanted a good night's sleep. If that isn't a resounding refusal, I don't know what is. I'm not about to start something; she'll think I'm pushy. I don't want to be one of those overbearing husbands that demands things. No, when she's ready she'll let me know. Until then, I'll keep my distance so she doesn't feel pressured._

The married couple skirted around the issue. Avoiding the topic of when they would be together intimately. Neither one wanting to force the issue if it was too soon. And so, they acted as if the problem would solve itself. Each deciding to just let nature take its course. No demands. No pressure.

Of course, the result was no physical contact and two frustrated adults.

* * *

A week later, Elizabeth set down a towel and bottle of shampoo on the kitchen counter. She reached into the cupboard and retrieved two large pitchers before moving the short distance to the sink.

"You going to wash your hair?" Jack asked when he walked into the room and observed her pumping water into the ceramic containers.

"I thought now would be a good time. I just put Little Jack down for a nap."

"Want me to help you?"

"If you don't mind."

* * *

Elizabeth tried to relax as Jack massaged the shampoo into her now wet hair.

With her eyes closed to avoid getting shampoo into them, she couldn't see him, but she could feel him; his leg as it touched the side of her thigh when he moved positions to pump more water. His fingers running through her thick long hair.

She caught a whiff of the new after-shave which she had bought for him recently and felt a tingle in her body. _He smells so good._

Her pulse, instead of relaxing under Jack's pampering, quickened. It wasn't the cool water from the pump that made her feel anxious; it was his closeness.

"Sorry, about that", Jack apologized when he accidently splashed water on her blouse as he moved positions.

"Sorry again!" This time at least half a cup of water found itself running down her blouse, soaking through the thin fabric.

Jack quickly grabbed the nearby towel and pressed it on her chest, causing Elizabeth to catch her breath.

Elizabeth kept her head leaned back against the edge of the sink but moved her arm, intending to touch Jack's hand and cover it with her own. But in the short time it took her to move, he had already returned his hands to her hair and began to again rinse the suds from her tresses in a business-like manner.

Elizabeth frowned. _Did he think I was going to push away his hand?_

When Jack was satisfied that the last remnants of the shampoo had been rinsed from her hair, he took her long curls and bundled the wet mass into his hands. Twisting it, he wrung out the excess water into the sink. And then he paused.

Elizabeth kept her eyes closed and waited for Jack to tell her that he was finished.

The kiss was so light, she almost wondered if it were her imagination.

But it was real. Blissfully real.

His mouth tenderly touching hers.

Her eyelids remained shut. Her long lashes dark against her skin as she enjoyed the warmth of his lips. When he moved his lips from hers, she felt him still hovering over her. His face just a hairs-breadth away.

His lips touched hers again, soft and gentle. She let her lips linger under his and felt the sweetness that one feels with the first innocent kiss of a new love.

She felt his fingers lightly caress her cheek. She loved when he did that. How he could make her feel so adored with just the soft touch of his hands on her face.

And then as Elizabeth waited for more . . .

. . . he moved away.

"All done. One freshly washed head of hair", Jack announced in a matter-of-fact voice. "I'll let you wrap it up in a towel. You always do that twisty towel thing I can't figure out. I'm going to go outside and chop some wood" he explained as he wiped his hands dry and swiftly headed towards the back door.

"Wood? There's a full stack by the stove. You've been chopping wood almost every night for more than a week." Elizabeth stated in bewilderment as she pressed the towel to her hair and sat upright in her chair.

"You can never have too much firewood. It's always a good idea to be prepared", he replied over his shoulder just before the door shut behind him.

* * *

Jack slammed the ax into the piece of wood on the chopping block. His shoulders ached after a week of unnecessarily chopping wood to keep his mind off of other things.

I _am not going to pressure her. When she's ready, she'll let me know. I don't want her thinking that's all I care about in our marriage. Just give her time. No pressure. No rush. It's probably too soon. Just because the doctor said we could do it after six weeks doesn't mean we have to jump right into bed. . . . damn, she looked good in that wet blouse_.

* * *

Monday afternoon was the bartender's delivery day but Elizabeth barely paid attention as the man took bottle after bottle out of crate and restocked his supply behind the bar.

A lock of hair fell over Elizabeth's face as she bent down to pick up a fallen card off the saloon's dirty floor. As she pushed the loose wave of brown hair behind her ear, she sighed.

It had now been two days since Jack had washed her hair in the kitchen sink. Two days since he had kissed her so tenderly.

Since then they had gone about the more mundane parts of their lives. Cleaning the house. Preparing meals. Making school lesson plans. Mountie duties. And of course, the joy of taking care of the baby.

But there had been no further tender kisses. In fact, Jack seemed to go out of his way to avoid touching Elizabeth.

Whenever they were in the same room, it felt like they were a couple nervously wondering if the other one wanted to court rather than a married couple with a child.

Yesterday, at breakfast, she had looked up from a sink full of dirty dishes to find him staring at her. When she caught his gaze, he didn't say anything but simply cleared his throat and quickly returned his gaze to the newspaper in front of him as if he had been caught in the act of doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing.

Later, after dinner, when he had pounded nails into a loose floorboard, Jack had paused to reach for another nail and had heard the baby. When he looked up at the sound, Elizabeth who has holding Jacklyn in her arms, was standing just a few feet away. He had watched as she unconsciously bit her bottom lip before she turned her attention away from Jack's muscled arms which she had been thinking about. She felt her cheeks turn pink, and suddenly self-conscious of her desire for him, she nervously began to pat the baby's back as if that was the most important task.

"Don't forget to get out all the creaks in floorboards" was all she had said as she had moved away.

Today, had been even worse. She had been a clumsy excuse for a wife as she seemed to continually bump into pieces of furniture or drop things every time he was near her. _It's been so long. He doesn't even seem interested. In fact, all he seems interested in lately is chores and polishing his boots. For goodness sakes, how often does he need to polish them?_ she grumbled _. And if he asks me one more time if he should repaint the front room, I'm going to smack him! . . . What if it's not the same now? What if he doesn't find me as . . . . good?!_

She pushed the lock of hair behind her ear again and placed the card with the red nine of diamonds on the black ten of spades which was on the table.

She was sitting at a table at the saloon, a stack of playing cards in her hand, as she waited for Katie Yost to meet with her. The nineteen-year old niece of the mercantile owner was planning on sitting for her teacher's examination next month and had anxiously asked if Elizabeth could give her advice.

When the door to the saloon opened, Elizabeth, expecting to see Katie, looked up.

Jack walked in and gave his wife a smile.

It was just an ordinary smile which somehow made her feel like a nervous bunny. The feeling reminded her of the feeling she used to get before they had ever first kissed – when she had wondered what his lips would taste like.

"Are you winning?" Jack asked with a nod towards the cards laying face up in a row on the table in front of her.

"Not yet. Do you want to join me for the game?"

Jack smiled again and his eyes seemed to twinkle with humor. "That's not usually how it's done."

Elizabeth gave Jack a curious blank look so he continued speaking. He tried to keep from laughing but he couldn't hide his smile when he nodded towards her deck of cards.

"Usually, one plays solitaire by one's self. That would be why it's called solitaire. It's from the Latin word solus which means alone," he chuckled.

Elizabeth's cheeks turned a bright pink as she realized her mistake. "I know that", she said quickly. Her voice pitch showed her nerves. "I - I just meant – oh never mind."

She cast her eyes down and quickly began gathering the playing cards. Refusing to look at him, she desperately hoped that he would turn and walked out to leave her alone – solus - in her embarrassment. _He must think I'm such an idiot now that I've had a baby. As if hormones change intelligence. Do you want to play solitaire with me. What was I thinking?! Does he think I'm flirting with him? Does he want me to flirt with him? Don't be stupid. He's my husband - I can flirt with him all I want. . . . Except he's got me all flustered all the time now. We need to just do IT and be done with it!_

When Elizabeth bent down to pick up several cards which she clumsily knocked off the table, she felt him.

His presence. Kneeling down next to her. Picking cards off the floor.

"Here. Let me help you", he said as he handed her three cards. His voice was low and seductive.

At least, she thought it was seductive. Anyone else would probably not have noticed the huskiness to it. The manliness. To anyone else, it would have seemed like his normal voice. To Elizabeth, it made her feel like she would let him help her with anything. If only he would ask.

"There's one more", he said as he motioned to the floor on her right. "The Queen of Hearts."

He reached past her, his arm brushing against her side, causing a tickling to go through her body. He handed the card to Elizabeth but kept hold of it for a moment while her hand touched the opposite side of the card.

"She represents virtue and purity. And love", he noted with a nod of his head towards the card.

"How do you know that?"

"One learns a lot when playing poker. And there's a lot of poker playing at the Academy and the Country Club."

Jack let go of the card and stood up. As he headed towards the Saloon door, he nodded hello to other patrons. It was then that Elizbeth spoke up.

"Don't you want me?" she asked curiously from across the room.

Now it was Jack's turn to suddenly blush as he wondered if Elizabeth could read his thoughts. "Excuse me?" he managed to sputter out.

"Don't you want me for something? To do for you?"

 _If you only knew what I'd like_ , Jack thought as stared at her. He quickly shook the inappropriate, although quite enticing, thought from his mind.

Jack looked around at the other people in the saloon and then back at Elizabeth who stood there innocently waiting for an answer.

"Elizabeth, I – I . . . What was the question?"

"Jack, you came in here for a reason. What was it?" Elizabeth asked again.

"Oh yeah. Right. Katie said she's going to be just a few more minutes. She's just waiting for Ned to finishing unloading a wagon of supplies. And Abigail said she can keep Jacklyn for another hour. Actually, she said she can keep her forever, but I said no."

Elizabeth laughed. "She's reveling in playing the surrogate grandma. I'll see you home in an hour or so? I'll make a nice dinner before you leave town tomorrow."

As the door closed behind him, Jack sighed and shook his head. _How does she make being adorable so darn sexy?!_

* * *

"Jack, why do you have two identification tags? They say the same thing. And why is one on a shorter cord attached to the longer cord." Elizabeth furrowed her brow as she fingered the aluminum tags bearing Jack's identifying information, including his name, birth-date, and regiment.

The married couple was in the bedroom the next morning packing Jack's belongings for his short trip out of town.

Jack walked over to Elizabeth and took the tags from her hand, shoving them into his pocket before turning away and continuing to pack.

"Jack?" she asked when he didn't answer.

"You've seen them before. They're the same tags I've always had. Can you pass me some more socks?"

Jack's lack of answering her questioning only piqued Elizabeth's curiosity. She took a pair of socks from his dresser drawer and moved over to the bed. Sitting down, she extended the socks to Jack. "I never gave them any thought before."

"There's nothing to think about. Pass me that undershirt?", he asked with a nod to the garment laying on the bed next to her.

So, what's the reason? For two tags?"

"It's just the way they're issued."

"Always two tags?"

"Yep."

"Never one or three?" she persisted.

"Always two tags."

Jack moved to the closet and took out a pair of pants while Elizabeth continued to contemplate the duplicate tags. She hated not knowing the reasons behind things.

 _It just seems silly to have two tags worn together that say the same thing,_ she thought with a frown.

"But why are they issued that way? It seems that the Force must have some reason for doing it. Is it in case you lose one? And why is one on a shorter cord, looped on the longer cord? If you lose the longer cord, you'd obviously lose the other."

Jack took his pants, which he had tightly rolled up, and shoved them into his saddlebag. "They're to identify me", he mumbled.

"I get that. It's easier than carrying a wallet and you can prove who are you if you need to. Or if you're unconscious or sick", Elizabeth said in exasperation. "But why two? And why the different length cords?"

"Just drop it, Elizabeth. Can you get me my toothbrush?"

"I don't want to drop it", she said in puzzlement as she crossed the room and picked up Jack's toothbrush.

Jack sighed at Elizabeth's persistence. "They're to identify me if needed", he finally said solemnly as he took the toothbrush from her.

He looked down at his saddlebag, staring at the leather and the buckles, before continuing. Refusing to look at his pretty wife who seemed not to have a care in the world other than an innocent curiosity about his metal identification tags.

"If something happens, one stays with . . . the body. The one on the shorter cord gets tired around my ankle. The other one gets sent to headquarters to record the death. Can we talk about something different now, please?"

Jack finished speaking quickly as he turned to the dresser and unnecessarily took out another pair of socks while avoiding looking at Elizabeth – who now looked stricken at his words.

"I have to leave in a few minutes," he reminded her as he tried to break the awkward silence that ensued.

When his statement was met with more silence, Jack glanced at Elizabeth. She was sitting frozen on the bed.

The words body and death were running through her mind as she looked at Jack. Even though she couldn't see the tags in his pocket, she knew that they were there. She knew that before he left home, he would put them around his neck.

She had seen the tags a hundred times before and had never bothered to ask about them. Now she wished she could go back in time and take back her question.

This wasn't at all like courting someone you really barely knew and worrying about them in the way that friends care about each other.

This was her husband. The man she loved. This was her life.

 **Up next: Chapter 61**

 **Dear Readers: These past few weeks, I was lucky enough to travel to Alabama, Oklahoma, and Indiana. If you're from any of those states, you have some beautiful areas! I especially loved the history of Oklahoma!**


	61. Chapter 61 - The Long Wait

**Chapter 61 – The Long Wait**

Jack had been gone five nights and Elizabeth's worry had grown steadily from her normal concern to something much more serious and all consuming.

She had been expecting him back to Hope Valley for dinner on Friday evening or perhaps arriving on Saturday afternoon, but now it was Saturday night and he still wasn't home.

Once the sun had set and darkness set in, Elizabeth knew that Jack wouldn't be home until at least the next day. Knowing it was almost impossible to travel by moonlight, especially with clouds shifting and covering the moon through the night, Jack would have found a place to camp.

Elizabeth stood alone at the window holding back the curtains with one hand as she looked out into the darkness.

 _He left on Tuesday. It would take him one day to travel to Sommersby – that would mean that he'd arrive there on Wednesday. He'd stay there all Wednesday and leave Thursday afternoon, camping out somewhere on Thursday night. He'd normally be back here Friday_ , she calculated in her mind. _That was yesterday_.

 _But, perhaps there was more work to be done in Sommersby; that would mean he'd stay until Friday afternoon, and spent Friday night somewhere along the way. So, he'd be back home on Saturda_ y, she recalculated in her mind.

 _But it's now Saturday night_. Elizabeth frowned as she thought of possible reasons why her husband wasn't home yet _. So_ _he must have hit bad weather. That would slow him down a little. He'll be home tomorrow._

 _Yes, that's it. He'll be home tomorrow,_ she thought with determination and a weak smile. _And I'll make him a nice lunch. And maybe a pie for dessert._

* * *

On Sunday, Elizabeth took a quick bath during Jacklyn's morning nap, and then tidied up the home.

As she finished refolding the throw blanket on the couch, she glanced in the mirror on the wall.

Walking closer to the large square mirror, she examined her reflection, taking in her plain grey skirt and white blouse and her long hair which she was wearing down past her shoulders. She looked at her image for a moment and then hurried upstairs to change into a nicer outfit.

 _He loves this one,_ she thought as she looked at the garments in her closet and pulled a white V-necked lacy blouse off its hanger.

* * *

At noon, Elizabeth set the table with a tablecloth and soup bowls, and then made a fresh batch of iced tea.

Lifting up the lid to the pot on the stove, she dipped in a spoon and tasted the dumplings. _Delicious._

She looked around the kitchen, which was neat and tidy, and then wandered upstairs again. Waiting as patiently as she could for Jack's return. The bed was perfectly made, so, on a whim, she pulled back the feather bedcovers, making it look more inviting.

Before going back downstairs, Elizabeth stopped in front of her dresser. She piled up her hair at the back of her head, and then, picking up some hair pins, she began strategically placing them in the bun, allowing it to loosely stay in place.

Knowing Jack's favorite hairstyle on her, she pulled two long tendrils out of the bun and allowed them to frame her face.

 _Perfect._

She smiled as she looked at her reflection once more and then put a small dab of perfume on her skin at the base of the V-neck.

 _He will be very happy with his welcome home_ _. Very very happy._

 _I don't know why we've been so nervous about being together again after the baby was born. I won't make that mistake again!_

* * *

At two thirty, when Jack still wasn't home, Elizabeth dressed their daughter in a fresh outfit, placed a light pink bonnet on the infant's head of soft brown hair, and walked to the mercantile.

"Sorry, Mrs. Thornton, no telegram for you. I know you were asking yesterday too, but I'm sorry, nothing's come in."

Elizabeth forced a smile as the young lady behind the counter gave her a sympathetic look.

"Thank you, Katie. If one comes in, would you please have someone deliver it?" she asked pleasantly. "And I'll take a pound of coffee," Elizabeth decided at the last minute.

 _I don't need the whole town thinking I stop by the mercantile every day just to check to see if my husband has sent me word._

* * *

By five o'clock, Elizabeth still hadn't lost hope. _It will be light for several more hours_ she told herself.

Her hair was somewhat messy from her brief nap on the couch, and the pretty blouse was now wrinkled and had a stain of spit-up breast milk on the shoulder area, but Elizabeth was too anxious to bother changing. _He doesn't care what I'm wearing anyway._

Elizabeth covered the now-cooled pie to keep the flies away, and decided to keep the pot of soup and dumplings on the stove. _I can heat it up quickly enough when he gets here. He'll be hungry after his long ride._

She glanced at the clock and then walked across the room and looked outside.

Men, looking tired and dirty from their work in the sawmill which never seemed to close, were walking home for dinner. Children were screaming in fun as the ran down the dirt street chasing an energetic dog which was chasing a cat. Women were watering pots of herbs outside their front doors.

All seemed right in the world. But it wasn't. It wasn't right because Jack wasn't home.

 _Where is he?_ Elizabeth fretted.

* * *

When darkness fell on Sunday, Elizabeth lay in bed with Jacklyn in the drawer next to her.

She listened for the sound of the front door opening. Hoping to hear the key in the lock and the turn of the handle but knowing that she wouldn't. It was too dark. Too late for him to come home tonight.

 _He's only slightly more than 48 hours overdue_ , she reminded herself. _That's not that long. . . . .But he's never been this late before. Not without sending a telegram_.

As she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, Elizabeth pictured Jack in her mind. She tried to concentrate on his warm eyes, his thick hair with its adorable cowlick, his muscles.

But no matter how much she tried to concentrate on those images, her mind kept going back to a different one. It kept going back to the two identification tags he wore on a cord.

One for the body.

One to record the death.

* * *

By early Monday afternoon, Elizabeth could barely concentrate on the students, who had only been back to school – and only at half days – for just over a week.

Much to her students' surprise, she misspelled words on the chalkboard, forgot to call them in for recess, and was so distracted that she got the twins, Bradley and Brian, mixed up three times despite the fact that Bradley had a shaved head due to an unfortunate accident with chewing gum.

By the time she had rung the bell to signify the end of the shortened school day, the students were well aware that Elizabeth's mind was on something other than them.

"Elizabeth, did you want to take some loaves of bread home?" Abigail asked. The two women were in the Café's kitchen sharing a cup of tea while Abigail enjoyed covering little Jacklyn with kisses.

"Hmm." Elizabeth stared at the teacup, lifting up the teabag and dunking it into the water again.

"Did you hear what I said?"

Elizabeth looked up in surprise. "No, I'm sorry. What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to take home some bread. I made some fresh loaves." Abigail handed the baby back to Elizabeth and changed her attention to the food on the counter. She began wrapping a loaf of bread in a cloth napkin. "Still no word from him?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Not yet."

"Put yourself in his place."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, think about what he thinks about. You know he worries about you handling the baby and the home chores by yourself while also teaching."

"I know he does, but that's silly. Sweet, but silly. I can handle myself just fine. It just takes organization and patience. "

"And he can handle himself just fine. Just like he worries about you for no reason, you worry about him for no reason. He's perfectly fine. He knows what he's doing. So, stop worrying."

Ten minutes later as Abigail closed the door behind Elizabeth and Jacklyn, she frowned. She didn't believe a word of what she had said to Elizabeth. She was worried too. Jack had never been this overdue without sending word to Elizabeth.

* * *

Monday night, Elizabeth once again emptied out a dresser drawer and put it back on Jack's side of the bed. She placed Jacklyn inside the blanket-lined drawer for the night, and then lay down next to her.

Elizabeth realized that the little girl would have been fine in the bassinet but this was to comfort herself, not the baby. Elizabeth needed something to touch. Something to concentrate on. Something to make the mantra stop playing over and over again in her head to the point that she couldn't think of anything else. _Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay. Please let him be okay._

Jack had been gone for six days; he was now seventy-two hours overdue.

* * *

Tuesday's sun rose higher in the sky and continued to dry the ground which had been soaked by last night's heavy rain, but puddles still remained.

Elizabeth frowned when she saw some of the boys stomping their feet in the pools of water despite her admonishment before she had rung the recess bell.

 _Oh well, their mothers can deal with the mud-spattered pants hems,_ she thought.

She turned away from the energetic boys and watched as some of the girls, kneeling in their skirts on one of the thin wooden steps leading up the school, threw a small ball and jacks, or knucklebones as the laundress old Mrs. Quiver called them, onto a higher step. The girls shouted out the number they strived for and then scooped up the small metal-knobby objects before the ball had bounced more than once.

Elizabeth, her mind preoccupied with worry about Jack, turned and scanned the area.

She barely paid attention to the rhyming lyrics which other students were reciting as they swung a long length of rope while eight-year old Mary jumped over it, her pigtails flying up and down with each jump.

Instead, Elizabeth focused on the green hills.

In every direction were the hills. Full of trees and animals. Full of beauty and danger.

Elizabeth stood outside the school and imagined what was likely happening in those hills at this very moment.

Rivers, swollen with the rain, were rushing down the slopes. The softened earth was making it harder for a horse to keep its footing. Branches, having been knocked down in the storm, were blocking the worn-down trails usually used by deer and riders on horseback.

"Mrs. Thornton, Jimmy took my ball."

"Mrs. Thornton?" The little girl tugged on Elizabeth's long skirt, but Elizabeth didn't seem to notice the hand wrinkling the fabric.

"Mrs. Thornton?" the girl whined louder for the third time, and wondered why her teacher, usually so sweet to her, was now rudely ignoring her.

Several other girls, wanting the ball back from mischievous Jimmy so they could resume their game, now looked curiously at their teacher. She didn't seem to remember that they were there as she kept her face staring straight ahead. In fact, she seemed to have entirely forgotten that it was recess and she was surrounded by a school of children as her eyes looked off into the distance.

"Mrs. Thornton?" a concerned girl asked.

"Shhh."

Elizabeth didn't try to hide the mild irritation in her voice at the children who were interrupting her while she focused. Instead, she uncharacteristically waved her hand at them as if she was swatting away a pest.

Elizabeth's pulse started to race.

"Class dismissed!" she yelled to the astonishment of her students as she picked up the hem of her skirt and began running.

"Class dismissed!" she yelled again to the students as she sprinted past the boys who stopped splashing in the puddles to stare at their teacher who appeared to be running for her life.

* * *

The tall blades of grass were still wet in places from last night's storm and Elizabeth cursed the slipperiness. As she ran faster, she dropped the hem of her skirt which quickly became soaked as it gathered droplets of rainwater.

Wham!

Elizabeth's feet skidded out from under her, and she landed on her side. Mud splattered onto her already damp dress.

Ignoring her painful hip which she knew would show a bruise by tomorrow, she stood up and pushed her now disheveled hair out of her face. She hurriedly gathered up her skirt hem and began running again.

Towards the dot of red that was moving towards her.

It was still hundreds of yards away, but she knew that red. She had brushed lint and horse hair off that red. She had cleaned mud from that red. She had embraced the man wearing that red a thousand times and she wanted to do it a million times more.

The hill was steeper than she remembered and a few times she had to put her hand down as she stumbled forward. Despite her motivation, she started to move slower as she tired.

She hadn't been able to see his face from the distance but she had known it was him. And when she had seen the horse pick up speed, she knew that he had seen her.

* * *

When they were less than thirty feet apart, Jack pulled on the reins bringing his horse to an abrupt stop. The horse whinnied as Jack quickly dismounted. The Mountie boots barely hit the ground before he was hurrying the few paces to Elizabeth.

And then he was kissing her.

His hat fell - discarded from his hands - and landed unceremoniously on the ground as Jack found something more important to hold onto. His wife.

He never wanted to stop kissing his wife.

The kiss she had been dreaming about for days was finally hers. . . . except . . . it wasn't like the kiss she had been dreaming about.

A flushed Elizabeth suddenly pulled back, and looked up at him.

"I can't breathe" she lamented pathetically as she took a gulp of air.

She was breathing, just not as easily as she would have liked. Her chest was moving in and out as she tried to fill her lungs after her long run across the fields and up the steep slope.

"I ran", she explained and then took another breath. "I fell and I ran," she continued between more gulps of air. "It's a hill."

"A big hill", she added as she grabbed her side and bend over slightly to ease the cramp which had formed. "More like a mountain."

Jack chuckled at Elizabeth's pink cheeks and her statement about the geography.

Her shoulders were moving up and down with each inhaled breath.

"Breathe", he instructed with a grin.

When she looked up at him with glistening eyes, he reassured her gently, "Breathe. I'm not going anywhere."

Elizabeth, panting heavily, took a deep breath and stood up straighter. "Okay. I'm good. I'll breathe more later", she announced as she reached out her hands and pulled Jack's face towards hers.

And then he was kissing her again. Holding her. Owning her.

His tongue slipped inside her mouth. Warm and loving. Not too demanding but not too gentle.

She was kissing him back. Harder, deeper, with a need that had to be filled, and could only be filled by him.

The rest of the world had disappeared to her. There was only him.

As he held her, she knew what it meant to have someone own your heart.

His hands moved on her waist. They felt her softness without the constraint of the corset which she had stopped wearing during the pregnancy.

Jack's horse came up behind him, pushing its muzzle against Jack's shoulder and demanding some attention. Refusing to take his mouth off of Elizabeth, Jack blindly took a hand, reached over his shoulder, and forcefully pushed the large animal away.

Elizabeth's hands clung to Jack and she savored the taste of his mouth.

She let out a whimper when he moved his hands again. Fearing that he was ending the kiss. But to her relief, he was simply repositioning them.

His hands, rough and calloused from his work outside, cupped her smooth face, holding her to him as if he couldn't get enough of her. Needlessly holding her close when it was obvious she wasn't going anywhere unless she was forcefully dragged away from him.

Her body felt like growing limp and melting into his embrace, and at the same time, she wanted to take charge and absolutely devour him.

Off in the distance, the school children had stopped their games and were watching the couple, but Elizabeth didn't care. She didn't care that the boys and girls would be sitting at their dinner tables that night entertaining their parents with stories about what they had witnessed. She didn't care that she had left the school house door wide open. She didn't care about lessons plans or homework she was supposed to have given out.

All she cared about was this. This moment.

Jack hadn't said anything other than his simple words telling her to breathe and that he wasn't going anywhere. That was all she needed. He was here. He wasn't going anywhere. She could breathe.

* * *

They kept their fingers intertwined as they made their way down the steep hill with Jack's horse trailing behind them.

"That was a very nice welcome home", Jack remarked with a grin. He brought one of her hands to his lips, giving it a tender kiss and then lowering it again as they continued to walk.

"You're not home yet", Elizabeth responded with a smile.

Jack returned the smile but then stopped walking. He gave her a questioning look, raising his eyebrows at her, which she suspected was teasing in nature Well, at least mostly teasing.

"Elizabeth, I don't mean to sound concerned, but I notice you don't have Jacklyn with you. You do know where she she is, right? You didn't leave her alone at the school when you ran to me, did you?"

"For goodness sakes, I know where she is!" Elizabeth answered. "Abigail is watching her for me this morning. She's watching her for at least another hour."

Jack face broke out into another grin. "Thank God for Abigail. Because I intend to keep you very busy for the next hour."

 **Up Next: Chapter 62**

 **Dear Readers: Thank you for all your reviews and messages. They continue to motivate me to keep writing chapter after chapter**.


	62. Chapter 62 - The past, present, & future

**Chapter 62- The Past, THE PRESENT, & The Future**

As the married couple left Jack's horse at the livery and then walked, hand-in-hand, the remainder of the way home, Jack apologized for not letting Elizabeth know that he had delayed returning to Hope Valley, but he explained that it wasn't his fault. Neither the delay nor the fact that he hadn't been able to let her know was his fault.

Canada stretched from one ocean to the other with some of the largest tracts of undeveloped rugged forest land left in the world. Sheer wilderness without telegraph wires, telephone lines, or roads of any kind. The wilderness' caribou, elk, and grizzly bear didn't have a need for human communication and they didn't care that a small-town teacher was worried about her husband. When Jack had been delayed, first with work and then by bad weather, there had been no way for him to let Elizabeth know that he was safe.

Once back at their row-house, Jack made good on his promise to keep Elizabeth busy for an hour. In sixty minutes, he managed to find at least sixty different ways to please her body.

As they lay in bed, the sheets rumpled and their hair tousled, with the afternoon sun shining through the window and Jacklyn being babysat by Abigail, Jack murmured in Elizabeth's ear how much he loved her. How he hoped she hadn't worried.

Elizabeth returned his kisses - kiss for kiss, and ran her hand along the muscles of his back as she lay under him. "No worries", she whispered sweetly.

* * *

Two weeks later, one thing did worry Elizabeth. What to buy Jack.

"Jack and I have an anniversary coming up. I need help thinking of a surprise present for him," Elizabeth remarked as she sat in Abigail's kitchen, helping the older woman decorate cookies.

"Nope."

Elizabeth stopped sprinkling tiny dots of pink sugar on the iced cookies and looked in surprise at the woman sitting across from her. "Why not?"

"Whenever you two plan surprises, it just leads to misunderstandings."

"That's not true!"

"Yes, it is" Abigail said matter-of-factly as she used a pastry bag to ice another cookie. "I have never met two people more in love than you and Jack, but I have never met a couple who can be so romantically frustrating!"

"We're romantic. Not frustrating", Elizabeth countered pleasantly as she licked some frosting from her finger.

"Why you two just can't lead boring normal lives, I'll never understand."

* * *

Despite Abigail's doubt, the Thornton family had fallen into a normal boring, but pleasant, routine since Jack's last trip out of town.

As the evening sun began to go below the horizon, and Jack was giving his daughter a bath in the sink, Elizabeth decided to clean out his saddlebag and replenish it with a fresh handkerchief and bag of small nuts to snack on.

 _What is this_? Elizabeth thought curiously as she pulled a metal tube out of Jack's saddlebag along with his usual assortment of everyday belongings. Mixed in with his handkerchief, a pencil, and a small pack of mints, her hand had come across a small metal cylinder.

The tube was thin and approximately two inches in length.

Elizabeth had no idea of the purpose of the tube until she remembered a drawing she had seen in the Sears and Roebuck Catalog which had arrived in the mail last month.

 _It's one of those new lipstick tubes,_ she thought with a curious frown as she pulled apart the tube as far as the hinged lid would let her.

 _For lip rouge_. _Instead of keeping it in a small rouge pot._

 _Why would Jack have a woman's lipstick tube? Is it a gift for me? For our anniversary?_

Elizabeth continued to frown as she contemplated the plain tube with its dull metal finish. _It's not very fancy looking. Not even silver. Still . . . I don't care about that. It's the thought that counts. . . . . Although the thought of a silver or gold one with a gem would be nice._

Elizabeth returned her attention to the saddlebag and began rummaging through the remaining items. There, in the bag's bottom corner, she found a second identical tube.

 _Two lipstick tubes?_

* * *

Elizabeth hadn't planned to mention to Jack that she had found the tubes. If they were an anniversary present, she didn't want to spoil the surprise.

But she couldn't resist finding out more about them. And possibly buying more lip rouge to fill them. _Ned Yost never stocks good lip rouge at the mercantile. I'll have to get some by mail-order._

"Jack, what do you think of my lip color?" Elizabeth took a sip of water and then set down her glass in front of her. The couple was sitting at the table enjoying dinner while their infant daughter happily examined her surroundings from her position in the large soup tureen on the floor next to them.

"Is this a trick question? 'cause I think you're beautiful no matter what."

"Thank you for the compliment but I'm thinking about maybe getting some new make-up", Elizabeth remarked.

"Okay, if you want. Is there any more chicken?"

Elizabeth picked up the platter and stood up from the table. She took the last two pieces of chicken from the frying pan, placed them on the platter, and returned to the table.

Sitting down in her chair, she surreptitiously ran her tongue over her lips, hoping to draw attention to them. Hoping that they looked glisteningly alluring.

"So, do you think I should buy some new lip rouge?"

"I don't think you need it. And honestly, sometimes that lip rouge stuff is sticky. When I kiss you, it can be kind of yucky."

"Yucky?" Elizabeth scowled.

"Yeah. You don't need it. You want the last roll?" Jack asked as he nodded to the small linen-lined basket on the table.

Elizabeth let out a sigh. "Go ahead. Take it."

 _Obviously, he's not getting me lip rouge for a gift. Who are the tubes for? They aren't nice enough for a gift for his mother. She'd want one made of silver or gold; not simple metal. . . . Maybe he's just pretending he doesn't like lip rouge._

 _Nah, he seemed pretty honest when he said it was yucky._

 _Maybe it's just yucky on me! Maybe he likes it on someone else!_ she thought with a sudden jolt _._

 _Maybe he met someone when he was out of town!_

 _In the wilderness. A mountain woman!_

 _A mountain woman who likes lip rouge!_

* * *

Twenty-four hours later as Elizabeth walked to the Saloon, she thought about the metal tubes again. She had come up with three possibilities as to their purpose.

One. Lipstick tubes. _By why two when he doesn't even like lipstick on me?_ _I don't believe for a minute that he has another woman._

Two. Shell casings. _But they're empty. I know he's a city boy and not used to weapons as much as some men, but even I know an empty casing doesn't do any good. For Pete's sake he's a Mountie! Of course, he knows it needs a shell inside._

Okay, the third possibility hasn't come to me yet. But I'm sure it will.

* * *

As Elizabeth walked down the street, the third possibility was being discussed by two men inside a nearby building.

Jack and Tim Smyth were sitting at the long counter in the Saloon as Jack explained his anniversary present for Elizabeth. The idea of carrier pigeons had come to Jack when he had been unable to send a telegram to Elizabeth on his recent trip out of town.

"I've heard about them, but can't say I've ever seen them before", Tim Smyth, the friendly Pinkerton detective, said as he set down his beer bottle and looked at the metal message tube Jack was showing him.

"I'll be able to send her a message from anywhere I go. And she'll get it quicker than the mail system, even if there is one. She won't be able to send a message to me – because the birds will only return to their home – but I think she'll like having this system. And with two birds and two tubes, I'll always have a backup."

"When do you get the birds?"

"Any day now. They're a surprise for Elizabeth."

Elizabeth, carrying her infant daughter in her arms, entered the Saloon door and nodded hello to several of the early evening patrons. Recognizing the back of Jack's head from across the room, she smiled as she approached the bar, thinking about how happy he made her.

"It will get tied around the ankle", Jack, unaware of Elizabeth's walking up behind him, explained to Tim Smyth. "It can't hold a lot but it will bring Elizabeth some comfort."

"It's no secret that she worries about you when you're gone. Those days you were late, she was walking around town like half of her was missing."

Elizabeth paused quietly behind the men. Listening to their words. _Tied around the ankle? Bring me comfort?_

"When this is delivered, she'll never have to worry about me again."

"Hello, gentlemen." Elizabeth noticed Jack quickly shove something into his pocket when he heard her voice and then he turned and smiled at her. Even though she had seen it only for a split second, she recognized the small metal tube. The same tube which had been on her mind.

"Elizabeth, are you ready to walk home?"

"What are you men talking about?" she answered with a smile.

"We're placing bets on what you've got planned for dinner", Jack answered as he gave her a kiss on the cheek and then placed another kiss on Jacklyn's forehead.

 _He's lying to me_ , Elizabeth thought. _He's lying to me about that metal tube. He doesn't want me to know what it's for._

* * *

The next day, while Jack was entertaining Jacklyn downstairs, Elizabeth surreptitiously and quickly searched his uniform pants pockets. Finding nothing, she hurried to the dresser, pulling open the top drawer. She rummaged through his undershirts until she found them hidden between the fabrics. The metal tubes.

 _They're not an anniversary present after all. It's just like the Mountie identification tags he told me about before his last trip,_ she thought with sad desperation as she examined them. _He doesn't want me to think about them. One to tie around the ankle. And the other . . . to record the death?_

 _No, not to record the death. That will be handled by the identification tags. And not to stay with the body either. There's a tag for that._

 _He said these would be DELIVERED to me._

 _He said that I'll never worry about him again. Because . . why? Why will I never worry about him again?. . . Because when I receive the tube, he'll be gone! He didn't say it but that's what he meant. He'll be gone._

Elizabeth grabbed her chest at the horribly sad thought and felt her eyes tear up.

She looked at the metal tube in the palm of her hand _. These tubes are to comfort me, he said. But what fits in here?_

 _Oh my goodness, a piece of Jack! To remember him. I've read that some ancient cultures did that._

Looking at the size of the tube, she wiped her eyes and tried to figure out what could fit inside.

 _His little finger?_

 _That's disgusting!_

 _A lock of his hair? Yes, that's probably it. A long lock of his hair._

 _His cowlick!_ she realized with a strangled gasp. She sniffled, wiped a tear from her cheek, and thought about how she loved to push his bangs off of his forehead where they often fell whenever he was doing something physical. Or in the morning when he rolled out of bed all rumpled. _I love his hair!_

 _Why couldn't he just have been cheating on me with a mountain woman who needed lip rouge instead of this?!_

 _But why two tubes?_

She sadly contemplated the fact for a moment until she came up with what she considered a likely reason.

 _One must be for his mother._

 _We each get something to remember him by,_ she thought with another sob before wiping away more tears which had quickly formed, taking a deep breath to compose herself, and heading downstairs for dinner.

* * *

Elizabeth leaned against the door-frame, a dishtowel in her hands, and stared at Jack, who was concentrating on his official duty log book and papers which covered the parlor desk.

All through dinner, she had managed to keep up a running conversation about the baby, weather, school, his duties. Anything but the metal tubes. She had promised herself that she wouldn't bring them up. Not after the episode with the identification tags in their bedroom before his last trip out of town. She still remembered how much it had pained him to have to explain their purpose to her.

No. She would never mention the tubes – the memento of a Mountie's death in the line of duty.

Elizabeth thought about the rare fights she and Jack had had about his job. She had courted him knowing he was a Mountie. She had married him knowing he was a Mountie. She had agreed to have a child – several children in the future – knowing that he was a Mountie. And she had promised Jack that it was okay. That she was okay with it. That she wanted him to be happy and fulfilled in his job.

She wouldn't take that from him.

"What are you doing?" Jack asked suspiciously but with smile when he looked up from the desk and saw her staring at him.

"Nothing. Just looking at you", Elizabeth answered. The corners of her mouth moved up in a small smile of her own.

"Why?"

"Because I love you."

Jack raised his eyebrows and gave a skeptical shake of his head as he chuckled and returned his attention to his work.

"You're still looking at me", he observed seconds later as he sensed her eyes watching him.

"I still love you", she teased.

"That's nice. But I need to get this paperwork done and I can't do it with you staring at me."

"Then you shouldn't look so adorable", she answered before returning to the kitchen to finish drying the dishes.

"I can't help it. It comes naturally," he mumbled with a grin as he entered more facts and numbers into his log book.

* * *

Jack, still scribbling numbers and details of his past week onto the required RNWMP forms, jerked his head away when he felt the hands in his hair.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?"

"I'm just touching your hair", she explained as she began running her fingers through it again.

"I love your hair", she added wistfully as she felt its softness. She pushed his beloved cowlick back into place.

Jack set down his pencil and pulled back a bit. He eyed her curiously. "If you love my hair so much, why do you act like you're about to cry? What has gotten into you this evening?"

"I'm just feeling sentimental," she said with a forced smile.

"That time of the month sentimental or some other kind of sentimental?"

"Hush. I just love you. But if you keep being rude about it, I might change my mind", she reprimanded him.

"How about you give me another ten minutes to finish my paperwork and then you'll have all my attention and you can play with my hair all you want?"

* * *

Hours later, the couple lay in bed with Elizabeth listening to the soft sounds of Jack breathing next to her. While he slept, her bare feet were intertwined with his. Her favorite place to keep them.

Elizabeth realized that the answer to what the metal tubes would contain was probably in Jack's desk, indexed and alphabetized in one of his Royal Northwest Mounted Police regulations. The RNWMP had a regulation for everything.

 _Including death_ , she realized sadly. _Just like for those stupid identification tags he wears around his neck._

She shook the thought from her head. She didn't want to read what would happen if Jack succumbed to injuries or disease in some remote location, far from home.

* * *

Saturday afternoon, Elizabeth managed to sneak away from home and Jack for a few minutes to send a telegram. She had finally come up with an idea for anniversary present for him.

A leather-bound sketchpad which had small leather straps to hold ten color pencils would be perfect.

If she could get Jack's brother, Tom, to do the shopping in Hamilton and mail it today, Jack might just get it in time for their anniversary.

Now, sitting on the couch next to Jack, who was reading a book, Elizabeth reached over and picked up one of his hands. She loved his hands. The way they could use simple brushes to paint the images in his mind. The way they touched her.

She held his hand for a moment and then began running her fingers along his. Examining them. The wrinkles, the clean nails he kept filed down, the one on which he wore his wedding ring.

And she thought of the metal tubes.

At first, Jack continued to read, but as Elizabeth focused more and more on his pinkie, he stopped in the middle of a paragraph and glanced up.

Elizabeth looked at him seriously. "I don't ever want one of your little fingers cut off", she said earnestly.

"Good God, where did that come from?" Jack pulled back and looked gob-stopped.

"I just worry about you. With your job."

"I work as a Mountie. Not at the sawmill. You do know that, don't you?"

Elizabeth swatted at Jack. "Yes, I know that. I'm not senile."

"So why the worry about my little fingers getting cut off?" Jack asked humorously as he spread apart his fingers and stared at his hands. "They are pretty nice now that I look at them."

"I was just trying to be express my love," Elizabeth explained.

"By telling me that you don't want my fingers to get cut off? That's your idea of expressing your love?"

"People express love in different ways", she replied in exasperation as she got up from the couch and went to pour a cup of tea.

 _My pinkies? Who knew_? Jack thought with a shrug.

* * *

Over the next twenty-four hours, Elizabeth came to the sensible conclusion that the Royal Northwest Mounted Force would most likely not cut off a member's little finger and send it home to the Mountie's family. The goal of the Mounties was to comfort the widow, not horrify her.

 _His scent. That would comfort me. A little. Or maybe make me cry even more._

Elizabeth brought one of Jack's shirts to her nose and sniffed in his scent. Burying her face in the fabric, she closed her eyes and pictured Jack in her mind.

 _Would a scrap of clothing cut from his uniform be returned in the metal tube? Is that what I would have to remember him by? To bring me comfort?_ _A scrap of material from the last clothing he wore?_

Unable to stop herself, she found her eyes tearing up.

"What has gotten into you?" Jack asked with a frown. He was standing in the doorway watching her.

Elizabeth, startled by his presence, looked up quickly. "Nothing. Why?"

"You're smelling my clothes."

"Just trying to see if they need washing", she answered with a quick smile.

"Well, obviously they do."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because your eyes are getting all watery from the stench. Geez – I didn't think they were that bad. Sorry, I was sweating a lot."

Before she could protest, Jack had pulled the clothes from her hand and was walking away. "I'll take them downstairs for tomorrow's wash."

* * *

"What's going on with you?" Jack asked casually. He pulled back the covers and sat down on the edge of his side of the mattress, as Elizabeth readied herself for bed an hour later.

What do you mean?"

"You've been slightly obsessed with my hair, my hands, and this evening, the smell of my clothes. Is everything okay?"

"I just love you, that's all. Sometimes I get sentimental."

Jack removed one of his slippers and then paused as a sudden some-what terrifying thought came to mind.

He turned and looked wide-eyed over his shoulder. "Dear Lord, you're not pregnant again, are you?!"

"No, I'm not pregnant! Don't be ridiculous."

"Good. Okay. That's good", he said with relief.

"Don't think I didn't notice your deep sigh of relief just now", Elizabeth said with slight disgust.

"Hey, Little Jack's not even three months old. I just think we should enjoy her."

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and gave Jack another look of indignant disgust.

"You're sure, right? You're sure that you're not pregnant?" a worried Jack asked.

"Can't a wife love her husband without being accused of being over-emotional and pregnant?!"

* * *

Jack poured the hot brown liquid from the coffee pot into his mug and reached for the creamer. "One of our anniversaries is this week", he remarked to Elizabeth across the table at breakfast the next morning.

"I know", she smiled contently. "And I got you a wonderful present."

"Well, I got _you_ a wonderful present. It should get delivered this week." Jack gave her a wink and then got up from the table to tend to Jacklyn who was squirming to be picked up.

 _I love you, Jack,_ Elizabeth thought silently _. I will concentrate on us and stop worrying about the future and those stupid metal tubes._

 _I will love any present you get me_.

* * *

 _What?!_

 _What the heck am I supposed to do with these?_

Elizabeth was staring at Jack's present, which was staring back at her. All four eyes of it.

Four tiny beady black eyes.

When Elizabeth had stopped by the mercantile to see if Tom's package had arrived, she had been practically accosted by Ned Yost, who glanced up from the counter and gave her an irritated look.

The mercantile owner, who was also the town's telegraph operator, was finding it difficult, due to the loud cooing of the two birds, to decipher the dots and dashes coming across the telegraph wires.

"Get them out of here, Mrs. Thornton", he instructed as he handed the freight receipt to her and motioned to the bird cage.

"Me?!"

"They're addressed to your husband. So, yes, get them out of here. I know he ordered them as a surprise for you. Some kind of present. I don't care. Just get them out of here."

Elizabeth put her hand on the cage's handle and looked at the two tiny creatures pecking at the bars. She gave them a puzzled frown.

 _This has got to be the stupidest present. I love Jack, but honestly couldn't he come up with a better present?! Jewelry? Furniture? A new frying pan?!_

 _What am I going to do with two birds?!_

* * *

"Are they doves?" Abigail questioned as she examined the birds through the thin bars of the cage. "Maybe he wanted to be romantic."

"Doves are white."

"Well maybe they sent the wrong ones."

"Maybe," an unconvinced Elizabeth replied. "But why would he buy me two doves? For goodness sakes, I've got a new baby, a kitten, and a dog! I've already got enough living things to take care of by myself when he's gone. The last thing I need is a pair of birds," she grumbled.

* * *

Elizabeth bristled when Clint, who was walking next to her, let out a loud laugh. "Ain't exactly a romantic gesture."

She was pushing the baby's pram with one hand and carrying the cage in the other as she made her way home.

"Of course, it is," Elizabeth said defensively before frowning and then adding hesitantly "It's his sweet way of adding to our family."

Clint led out a howl of laughter. "Sweet way of adding to the family?! They're two ugly pigeons.'

"They're doves!" she argued in defense of Jack's gift.

"They're grey pigeons that he probably wants you to cook up for dinner. That or he's got an odd sense of what a woman wants for a present." Clint chuckled and shook his head as he stopped walking when he got to the Saloon.

"Big rich city poor don't know much about what a woman wants. I would have got you a piece of jewelry", he added, laughing and yelling over his shoulder as he went inside the establishment. "Bon Appetit."

* * *

 _Cook them?_

As Elizabeth carried the cage back to the row-house, she thought more about Clint's words.

If Jack wanted her to cook birds for dinner, why didn't he just go hunting? Why order them from out of town? And why such tiny little things?

And then it suddenly came to her.

Squab.

She had only seen the word once but she remembered the scene exactly.

Elizabeth had come across the word squab for the first and only time on the menu the last time she had been in Hamilton. The day after the wedding reception, Jack had taken Elizabeth to the most exquisite restaurant for dinner before their six o'clock train departure back to Hope Valley. When she had questioned what squab was – hoping it was a delicious pasta dish with fresh vegetables, or perhaps a misspelled word meant to be squash – Jack informed her of the delicacy known as squab.

Baby pigeons. Roasted to perfection.

 _He must want squab for our anniversary dinner. To remind us of the weekend of our wedding reception_.

. . . _But we didn't even order the squab. I had the lasagna and he had the steak._

 _Oh well, he must have been thinking about me asking about it after I saw it on the menu._

 _If my wonderful husband wants baby pigeons for dinner. I'll make baby pigeons for dinner._

 _Anything for Jack._

* * *

Three hours later, the oven was warm. The pot was on the counter. The onions were sliced. The butter was softened. The salt and pepper shakers were close by.

And yet dinner was nowhere near ready.

The cooing and wing flapping from the birdcage was evidence of that.

 _I can't do it!_

Elizabeth had planned it. She had steeled herself to do it. To wring their necks and pluck them clean. But now, as she looked at the two birds in the cage, all she could think about was how sweet they were.

 _Jack wants fresh pigeons for dinner. I have no idea why but if that what he wants, that's what I'm going to make!_ she thought with determination _._

 _I can do it. Just twist the neck and pluck. Twist the neck and pluck._

 _I can't do it!_

"I can't do it", Elizabeth whined to Jack when he walked in the door and asked if dinner was ready.

"Can't do what?"

"I can't kill the birds", Elizabeth replied sadly. "They're looking at me like defensive little creatures. . . .

. . . .And I don't even like dark meat!" she added as another validation of her refusal to kill the birds.

"Kill the birds?! I paid good money to a breeder for them!" Jack exclaimed as he gave a startled look from the bird cage to the pot simmering on the stove.

"You didn't want them for dinner?" A confused Elizabeth looked up at him.

"Of course not! Where would you get that idea?"

"Oh, Thank goodness. The idea of killing the sweet things and plucking them was too much for me."

"Elizabeth, they're my present to you. Why did you think I wanted them for dinner?"

Elizabeth waived her hand dismissively. "Oh, never mind. Just something stupid someone said. "I love them. I think they're adorable. And they'll be wonderful as an addition to our family."

"Addition to our family?"

"We can keep them in the parlor", she added enthusiastically as she looked at the birds.

"We're not keeping them in the parlor," Jack said with a grin.

"Really, it's okay. I think they're beautiful. We just have to keep the kitten away from them." Elizabeth stood up and gave Jack a kiss on the cheek. "I love my present."

"You have no idea why I got you two pigeons as a present, do you?"

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip and thought for a moment; she hated when he interrogated her and she didn't know the correct answer.

"Because you couldn't find love birds?" she questioned hesitantly.

Jack chuckled. "You are my love bird. I got you pigeons because they are carrier pigeons."

"Carrier pigeons?"

"Carrier pigeons", Jack said again.

Elizabeth looked dubiously at the birds. "They're kind of tiny to carry things."

Jack snorted in laughter. "They carry messages. I ordered them after my last time out of town. I hated that you worried about me and that I had no way of contacting you to let you know when I'd be home. I'm going to train the birds to return to our home. I figure that if I know I'm going somewhere that doesn't have telegraph service, I'll take the birds with me. Then I can send you messages in a little metal tube on their legs. So you won't worry."

 _The metal tubes!_ _To carry messages. On rolled-up pieces of paper!_ Elizabeth stared at Jack for a moment before speaking. "You bought me carrier pigeons? So I wouldn't worry?"

Jack shrugged. "It seemed like a good idea. I thought we'd give it a t-"

Before Jack could finish speaking, a sentimental Elizabeth had hurled herself against his body.

"I love you, Jack Thornton. You are the best husband in the world."

* * *

"How about Romeo and Juliet?" Jack asked as carried Jacklyn against his shoulder, gently patting her back while Elizabeth put fresh water in the birds' cage.

"Good heavens no! They killed themselves."

"Oh yeah. Forgot about that part. Good point."

"Napoleon and Josephine?" Elizabeth offered.

Jack shook his head. "She cheated on him when he was off in battle and he ended up hating her. They got divorced."

"Right. Not Napoleon and Josephine. Your turn."

"How about George and Martha Washington?"

"They never could have children together. And then he died and left her brokenhearted."

"We're not having much luck here."

"The birds need the perfect names. Don't we know any couples that lived long and happy lives forever in love?"

"We must. Let's keep thinking."

* * *

The next afternoon, Elizabeth set down the bird cage on Abigail's front porch before pushing open the door and walking inside.

"Thanks for watching her. Any problem?" Elizabeth asked as she picked up her daughter and gave her a sweet kiss on the forehead.

"She was perfect. How was your trip to the school?"

"Good. I gave the students their next assignments, and they loved seeing the birds."

"How are the feathery Jack and Elizabeth?" Abigail asked with a smile as she thought about the carrier pigeons which Jack and Elizabeth had named after themselves.

"They're sweet. Jack's finished building their home so he's going to start training them soon."

"I'm sure you'll be happy when they can start carrying messages."

"I suppose."

"You suppose?"

"I've kind of become fond of them. Now, I'll be worried about Jack and them too!", she whined.

 **Up next: Chapter 63**

 **Dear Readers: Carrier pigeons have been used by the military in real life. Cher Ami was a carrier pigeon who saved almost 200 hundred American lives during WW1. He's now in the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.**


	63. Chapter 63 - You Inspire Me

**Chapter 63 – You Inspire Me**

Jack, taking advantage of the good weather, trained the feathered Jack and Elizabeth for over a week before he felt satisfied that they could make it home safely.

Knowing that the birds would keep her informed of Jack's whereabouts by carrying his messages, Elizabeth smiled every time she witnessed the pigeons dutifully returning to their loft, the wooden and cage structure that Jack had built for them. The birds' home was attached to the top of a post which Jack had firmly planted close to where the Thornton home would be.

Every evening, the human family had made their way to the land, high on a hill, and imagined their new home. After first spending time with the birds, Jack, a pad of paper and pencil in his hand, had then made measurements and staked out areas while Elizabeth sat on the grass with the baby.

Today, as Elizabeth walked down the dusty path from the school house to the jailhouse, she wondered why her students couldn't be trained as easily as the carrier pigeons.

"Just lock me up and throw away the key", an exhausted Elizabeth said as she walked in the jailhouse and headed towards a cell.

"That bad?" Jack looked up from his desk and watched as Elizabeth gently picked up their baby from the cot. A pillow and some rolled-up blankets surrounded the little girl on the off chance that in the last 24 hours, she had miraculously learned to crawl, roll over, or jump off a cot after napping.

"Worse", Elizabeth replied as she sat on the thin mattress. "Two dozen students in an abandoned shack."

Jack grinned. "They're students. Not juvenile delinquents."

"They're dreadful."

"What's this about a shack? Don't tell me you're already disparaging the schoolhouse I built for you?" he teased.

"We were at the haunted shack in the woods."

"Why?"

"We were supposed to be studying tree rings when some of the students thought they saw a bear with her cubs, so we all ran to the shack for safety."

"Is everyone okay?" Jack set down his pencil and looked at her with interest.

"We're fine. We spent thirty minutes in a haunted shack worrying about being attacked by ghosts rather than outside worrying about being attacked by a bear, but we're fine."

""You mean the old Grangerson place?"

"That's the one."

Jack guffawed. "It's not haunted."

"Tell that to the students. Despite my best efforts to keep the students occupied with science lessons, they kept shrieking at every sound. Imaging that every creak in that old building was a ghost. It didn't help when Patrick told them that the family that used to live there disappeared one night without a trace."

Jack laughed. "They moved back east years ago. At least that's what I heard."

Elizabeth motioned her head towards the door. Jack, understanding immediately what she wanted, crossed the room and locked the door. When she heard the click of the lock turning, Elizabeth unbuttoned her blouse and put the baby to her chest in a familiar position before she responded.

"That's the adult version. The childrens' version, as told by Patrick in a spooky voice, is that a mother, father, and five children lived in the shack which was then a beautiful home. Over time, the mother became enemies with a neighbor. One day, she secretly poisoned her neighbor with deadly mushrooms. Just before the neighbor woman died, she put a curse on the shack and everyone that lived in it. According to the story, if you fall asleep in the shack, you'll never be heard from again. At least not the living version of you. The spirit version, still angry over the curse and untimely demise, haunts the house, luring in travelers. And then killing them so that the spirit children will have new playmates."

"New playmates?"

"Apparently five siblings are not enough."

"So how did you handle things?" Jack asked with a grin.

"We decided to walk out of the shack yelling and making noise to frighten away the bears."

"You're lucky the mama bear didn't charge one of the students earlier. There's nothing more dangerous than a mother bear protecting her young."

"Do you think I'm a good mother," Elizabeth asked after a brief pause.

Jack looked at her skeptically. "You didn't somehow manage to get a curse placed on our family, did you?"

"Hush, I'm being serious. Do you think I'm a good mother?"

"I think you're an excellent mother. Look at you. You just taught class for three hours and you're here now feeding the baby. Why do you ask?"

"An article I was reading in Canadian Ladies Home Journal."

Jack smirked and shook his head slightly. "You put too much stock in that magazine", he said as walked over to the cell entrance.

Jack leaned against the bars, crossed his arms, and looked at his wife and daughter on the cot. "So, what did this article say?"

Elizabeth thought about the article she had read which described the duties of the perfect wife and mother for a moment before speaking.

"Nothing. Nothing important," she said as she moved the baby to her other side and allowed her to continue feeding.

* * *

Two hours later, Elizabeth threw some beets in the pot on the stove, sat down at the kitchen table, and picked up the monthly issue of Canadian Ladies Home Journal. Skipping past the article which only reminded her of her shortcomings as a wife and mother, she turned the page to the relationship quiz.

 _Hmm. This is pretty easy. Jack and I will match each other's answers perfectly. We're the perfect couple._

After writing down her answer to the final quiz question on a pad of paper, Elizabeth set down her pencil with a satisfied smile, and then looked through the rest of the mail which Jack had given her earlier when she had stopped by the jailhouse.

The envelope with the Hamilton postmark caused her to scowl.

 _Lady Suzanna._

Despite trusting Jack's assurance that he had always considered his childhood friend as nothing more than a friend, Elizabeth couldn't help but seethe whenever the other woman, who had recently married her own wealthy man, contacted Jack.

Elizabeth slipped her fingers in the envelope, which Jack had already sliced open, and pulled out the contents. The newspaper clipping had a short note in perfect feminine penmanship attached to it.

She scanned the article about the country club's golf course and then examined the photograph printed next to it. There she was. Lady Suzanna Beachem Scottler. Looking as stylish and beautiful as ever in a ladies golf outfit of a pale-colored knit cardigan and a long skirt which was three inches off the ground. Her face was lit up as she smiled at the camera and rested one hand on a golf club.

 _How can she always look so perfectly put together_? Elizabeth thought with a twinge of jealousy. She self-consciously ran a hand through her hair and looked down at her apron, which was stained with beet juice.

Elizabeth's attention turned to the note taped to the article.

 ** _Jack,_**

 ** _We all miss you at the club. I thought you'd enjoy this article._** ** _I especially miss playing with your niblick in the grass behind the clubhouse. And no one handles my mashie as well as you did._** ** _Not even my husband._**

 ** _Love always, Suzanna_**

Elizabeth's eyes got wide when she read the words _. What?! She misses playing with Jack's niblick?! Behind the clubhouse?!_

 _Ooooh, she makes me so mad. I don't even want to know what a niblick is , but she better stop thinking about his! And as for her mashie, well, she'd better keep her mashie covered up! Whatever it is!_

Elizabeth angrily shoved the newspaper and note back in the envelope and tried to stop thinking about Jack and Lady Suzanna behind the clubhouse. Touching each other's niblick and mashie.

 _I hope she gets caught in a rainstorm the next time she plays golf and gets her perfect hair all messy._

* * *

The next morning Elizabeth was behind the schoolhouse watching the children handle their bowls of cornstarch and water for the day's science lesson when she felt a drop of rain and heard the rumbling of thunder. Despite the morning hour, the sky had suddenly turned dark and ominous.

"Children, inside. Hurry now", she called out loudly as she felt another drop of rain.

The students had barely made it in the doorway when the rain came pelting down, hitting the school's wooden steps with such a force that the droplets bounced back into the air.

Through the windows, the class could see trees bending in the strong wind.

Lightning cracked the sky in half causing several children to flinch in surprise.

It was as if Mother Nature was angry about something and determined to take out her rage on the small town of Hope Valley. It seemed that she had scooped up the Atlantic Ocean into her arms and then furiously dumped the entire thing onto the town. Not satisfied with that, she had then gone and picked up the Pacific Ocean to continue deluging the citizens.

Elizabeth raised her voice louder as she tried to begin a lesson. Trying to be heard over the whistling of the wind as it pushed its way through the seams around the windows. Trying to be heard over the loud pelting of the rain as it pounded the roof.

She jumped when another crack of lightning broke through the sky. _That was entirely too close_ , she thought worriedly.

"Children" she said in the calmest voice she could muster as she noticed several of them now looking petrified; their eyes wide in fear. "Let's all come to the front and sit together for our lesson. It will be cozier."

The children sprinted out of their seats. The younger ones grabbed onto Elizabeth's skirt, while the older ones tried to pretend that the storm didn't bother them as they looked anxiously around the small building.

"I'm scared, Mrs. Thornton", a seven-year old in pigtails said nervously.

"There's no reason to be scared. Storms bring rain which helps crops grow. And the water is nourishment for wild animals.

"I don't like the lightning. Why does it have to happen?" a boy asked as he moved closer to her.

"Thunderstorms happen whenever warm, moist air collides with cool, dry air. It's just simple science", Elizabeth explained even as she and the students shuddered when another clap of thunder seemed to almost deafen them.

"Let's think about something incredible we know about lightning."

When the nervous children just sat there, Elizabeth prodded them.

"Lightning is electricity. Do you remember a certain man who did a science experiment with lightning?"

"Benjamin Franklin!" several spoke out in unison and then clapped their hands over the ears when a burst of thunder seemed to attack them.

"That's right. He was standing in the rain with his kite. How do you think Mr. Franklin felt when he used his kite in the electrical storm?"

"Shocked", Debbie announced matter-of-factly in a bored voice.

Elizabeth's eyes knit in puzzlement at the teenage girl's word. "I don't think he felt shocked, he was anticipating what would happen. He was a scientist. So he probably wasn't shocked by the result of his experiment."

"Yes, he was. Electricity will shock you", the girl replied smugly.

Elizabeth glared at the teenage girl before turning and speaking pleasantly to the students. "Electricity can be wonderful. Big cities have streetcars that can take you from one end of the city to the other and hold two dozen people in one car! Isn't that exciting?"

When the children didn't look impressed, Elizabeth continued encouragingly.

"In a few years, all our homes may have electricity. Just think about. Lights we can turn on and off with a switch in every room. Ovens that won't need wood. Electric sweepers and electric iceboxes. Won't it be wonderful?"

"My mom says it too dangerous. She doesn't ever want it in our house. She's said it will burn through the walls", Jason volunteered.

"My Pa says its invisible and we can't trust what we can't see", Mary piped up.

"I don't want lightning in my house. I don't care about Ben Franklin", another child announced.

 _Well this conversation isn't going the way I thought it would_ , Elizabeth realized with a slight frown as the other children volunteered more and more negative thoughts on electricity.

Finally, Elizabeth was able to get a word in edgewise between the clamoring of the children and the sounds of the storm.

"I'm sure it will be very safe. People have been using it for years. Big cities have it in all the hotels and restaurants. Mountie Jack's family's home has it."

"Do you feel guilty, Mrs. Thornton?" one of the girls, an outspoken twelve-year old, asked.

A puzzled Elizabeth looked at the girl. "Guilty? About what?"

"Sergeant Thornton marrying you?"

Elizabeth continued to look befuddled. "Why would I feel guilty about Sergeant Thornton marrying me?"

" 'Cuz he gave up all his money and fancy mansion to live here with you in that simple rowhouse without no electricity."

"It's not a simple rowhouse", Elizabeth said forcefully. "And . . . and . . . . " Elizabeth sputtered for a moment. "Sergeant Thornton loves me. Now let's get back to our discussion on electricity and . . . storms."

"Does Sergeant Thornton's mansion have an indoor bathroom. 'Cuz if he did, I bet he misses that", one of the girls spoke up.

"I bet he misses those automobiles they have in cities", a boy announced.

Elizabeth took another sigh to try to quell her exasperation before speaking a bit too tersely. "Let's think of more things electricity can do."

"Death!" Debbie announced with a flourish.

When Elizabeth gave her a shocked look, the teenager continued, "If lighting strikes you, you die. Right there. Burned right through. And _you_ said lightning is electricity. Which means it will kill you! Why, we will probably get struck by lightning any minute now. This school house is like a sitting duck in the middle of the field."

"I don't want to die", little Opal wailed as the students nervously looked at the windows which were still being pelted by the rain.

"Debbie, Be quiet. No one is going to get struck by lightning!" Elizabeth said harshly

She took a deep breath to calm her irritation before turning to the rest of the students. "Now let's think about _household items_ that can be electrified. Like irons and ceiling fans", she instructed as she valiantly tried to remain pleasant.

"Chairs!" Patrick yelled out.

"Chairs?" Elizabeth pulled back in confusion.

"That's how they kill people in the United States!"

"What in God's name are you talking about?" a shocked Elizabeth asked.

"My dad told me. They kill criminals that way." Patrick explained as he began twitching for emphasis.

The small children looked at him in horror as he tilted his head sideways and allowed his tongue to hand out the side of his mouth while he continued to twitch his body.

Patrick was soon joined by Debbie who blinked her eyes furiously and jerked her arms back and forth as she bounced up and down against the hard wood floor as if an electric current was suddenly running through her body.

* * *

The storm had finally passed and Elizabeth was pacing the wood floor of the school house when Jack stopped by with Jacklyn at the end of the three-hour school day. Elizabeth knew that soon she would have to go back to teaching full days, but at this rate, she wasn't sure she was going to make it.

"Hey, Jellybean. What's up?" Jack asked when he noticed she looked more frazzled than usual.

"We were stuck inside during the storm and the students were acting up more than normal. Patrick was in high form."

"I thought he's always been a bit of a class clown. Him and Debbie" Jack responded as he closed the door and handed the baby to her.

"They have. It's not just them. I've having difficulty with another student. Little Stevie."

"The new boy? He's only five. How can he be trouble?"

"He seems really smart when it comes to learning to read, but today-"

Elizabeth stopped speaking for a moment as she thought more about the afternoon. "Today, I gave him colored blocks and asked him to count the red and green ones, and he got it all wrong. It was just simple blocks and he couldn't even count them. How can he be smart enough to know his alphabet and not be able to count?" she asked in exasperation.

"Maybe he just needs more time."

"I guess. But he got in a fight the other day and I can't stand when the students fight."

"What was the fight about?"

"It was during recess and the boys had been playing marbles. There was some disagreement over which marbles belonged to whom. Something silly like that."

"You once told me that children are like puzzles."

"That's right. Sometimes, you have to work really hard to put the pieces together. But it's always worth it."

"So you'll figure it out. How to teach him."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you're my Elizabeth. You can do anything." Jack said with a grin. "Now how about I carry your books and we go home. And you can make lunch before I have to get back to work."

* * *

"Jack, do you ever regret living in Hope Valley?" Elizabeth asked as the couple ate a simple lunch at their kitchen table.

"Of course not. That's a silly question."

"If we lived in Hamilton, we could have a house with electricity and you could go to the country club and play golf."

"I'm fine without electricity." Jack put a spoonful of soup in his mouth and swallowed before speaking again. "I do miss golf now that you mention it", he said somewhat wistfully.

 _And maybe Lady Suzanna,_ Elizabeth thought with a frown. "Really? You miss it?"

"It was a nice hobby to have when I was a bachelor in Hamilton and had more free time. Obviously, I wouldn't play now that I've got you and Jacklyn."

"We've got the bowling lanes you built", she said eagerly. "That's a nice hobby."

Jack reached for a roll and then began to spread butter on it. "It's nowhere near the same thing. Bowling's fun but a game is pretty short. Golf can take hours. Outside. In nature. It's a great game that lasts a long time each time you play."

 _Nature._ Elizabeth scowled. _Lady Suzanna would like to be getting into nature for hours with you,_ she thought bitterly as she took another spoonful of soup.

* * *

Abigail handed a wet spoon to Elizabeth and began washing another one. The two women were standing in front of the sink at Abigail's washing the Café's customers' dishes the next afternoon.

Elizabeth wiped the spoon dry and reached out her hand for another one. "Abigail, do you think I'm a good teacher?"

"Of course, you are. Why do you ask?"

"I know I can teach the students to read and write, but do you think that I'm inspiring them?"

"What's this about?"

"I took a magazine quiz and it asked who inspired me, and I put down Charles-Mihel de l'Epee."

"Who's he?"

"He's considered the father of educating the deaf. He came from a wealthy family but used his money and position to help the deaf gain education and independence. Anyhow, I began to wonder if I inspire anyone."

"I'm sure you do."

"I had more trouble with little Stevie today."

"Stevie Flanders? He's such a sweet little boy."

"I know. But he was in tears today."

"Over what?"

"Crayons."

"Crayons?"

"I had the students coloring pictures for the books they are making and he wanted the brand-new crayons instead of the used ones. But the new ones were being used already by some other students. When I explained that the old ones worked just as well, he became all teary eyed. He insisted he needed ones with the paper wrapper still intact."

"What did you do?"

"I explained about sharing and taking turns and that he would just have to use the older crayons. The tears started flowing and he pushed aside the crayons and refused to color."

"Is everything okay with his home-life?"

"I'm sure it is. His parents are sweethearts."

Abigail shrugged dismissively. "Some boys are just more sensitive than others. Learning that you can't have everything you want all bright and new and shiny is a lesson he'll have to learn some time."

"That's just it. I don't think that was the real problem. It was something else. I just don't know what. How am I ever supposed to inspire anyone or even be a good mother if I can't figure out why a smart little boy cries over crayons and fights over marbles."

"Who did Jack say inspired him?" Abigail asked.

"What makes you think he took the quiz?"

Abigail rinsed a plate under the faucet and handed it to Elizabeth with a smile. "Because you always have him take those silly magazine quizzes."

Elizabeth laughed. "I'll have him take it this evening."

* * *

Jack was sitting at the table sipping a cup of tea and reading the newspaper while Elizabeth sat across from him looking at his quiz answers. So far, she didn't like any of them.

"Jack?"

"Uh huh", he replied without looking away from paper.

"Did you understand this quiz?"

Jack lowered the paper and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I did. Don't forget, I graduated top of my class. I think I can handle a woman's magazine quiz."

Elizabeth paused before she began to hesitatingly speak. "I know. It's just that – well – It's just that some of your answers seem a bit odd."

"I think they're fine. You told me to be honest", he responded before going back to reading the paper.

 _Fine?! They're not fine. They're all wrong!_

 _List one of the most meaningful places to you: Room 304 at the Mountie Academy? What the heck happened in room 304?! Did he pass a test? Kiss some secretary? He was supposed to put down something to do with me! Not the stupid Mountie Academy!_

 _What's your favorite song? He wrote 'Hush, little baby'. That's not it at all. I've never even heard him sing it. His favorite song is "Danny Boy"._

 _And what's your favorite color? He put down TB. For goodness sakes, it didn't ask for his favorite disease! And who picks tuberculous as their favorite disease?!,_ Elizabeth grumbled as she looked at the piece of paper.

When she got to question number four, she finally spoke again.

"For the question, name your favorite meal, you were supposed to put down a _meal_. Like shepherd's pie or roasted chicken with small red potatoes. Or duck with rice. You put down a date from almost a year ago. That's not a meal. That's a date."

Jack took a sip of tea before speaking. "What happened on that date?"

Elizabeth looked surprised at his question and then looked at the date again. "That's the day of our wedding reception. Weeks and weeks after we eloped."

"Yep. The question wasn't what's my favorite food. It asked what's my favorite _meal_. And my favorite meal was when we were sitting on the empty dance floor feeding each other after I rescued you from the basement. The musicians were playing quietly in the background, and it was just the two of us sitting there. You said it was the most romantic time of your life. That's my favorite meal." Jack said simply and then went back to reading the paper.

 _Oh my, maybe he did answer that one correctly. His answer is much better than mine. I wrote down my crappy shepherd's pie._

Elizabeth looked across the table where Jack was once engrossed in the newspaper.

"Jack, what's TB?"

"My favorite color."

"Um, yes. I see that you wrote that. I'm just wondering exactly what _color_ it is."

"Tiffany Blue. Because you like it so much. It reminds me of how you smile whenever you look at the porch ceiling we painted. And of how excited you got when I gave you your locket from Tiffany and Company."

Elizabeth fingered the locket around her neck. "I do love Tiffany Blue", she admitted. _Gosh, he's good at this quiz._

Elizabeth's smile turned back into a frown and she reviewed the other questions and answers.

"Jack, do you regret marrying me?"

Jack set down the paper and looked at her. "I regret taking this quiz."

"Be serious. Do you regret marrying me?"

"No. But while you're cross-examining me about my answers to your silly quiz, I'm getting another cup of tea."

"Explain your answer to this one", Elizabeth ordered in a somewhat irritated voice. "If tomorrow, you could marry anyone in the world, who would it be? You said _no one_. No one!"

"Did I get that one wrong? Because you said earlier that there were no right and wrong answers to this quiz."

Elizabeth gave him a harsh stare as he reminded her of her words.

"Did I turn you off of marriage so much that if you could marry anyone in the world, you'd marry NO ONE?! " she wailed.

Jack picked up the wooden dipper and stirred some honey into his tea as he spoke. "I'm already married to you. If I would marry anyone else it would have to mean that I was a bigamist or you had died. Neither one seemed acceptable. I don't want to marry anyone tomorrow or any other day. I love you. I'm already married to you."

Jack took a sip of his tea, and then returned to reading the paper.

 _Oh, that was a good answer. I feel stupid that I put down Benjamin Franklin._ Elizabeth thought guiltily.

Suddenly Jack lowered the paper and looked at Elizabeth "Didn't you put down _no one_ too?

"Of course I did! Just like you said", she answered as she pushed her answer sheet underneath his.

"Are you going to interrogate me about all my answers?"

"Um. Just one more. If you don't mind." Elizabeth was looking at question six to which Jack had responded that he inspired himself. _He can't be that egotistical. Can he? Do all wealthy handsome brave men become that arrogant?_

Jack sighed and set down the paper. "I suppose today's important news can wait until tomorrow. What's up? Which question did I get wrong?"

"Question six. Who inspires you? You wrote ' _me_.'"

"That's right."

"Why would you put you?"

"I didn't put me, I put you."

"No, you put _me_."

"That's what I said. I put down you."

"No, you wrote you."

Jack grabbed the paper and looked at his writing. "M period E period." He reached across the table, thrust the paper in front of Elizabeth, and pointed at the letters with the finger.

For the first time, Elizabeth noticed the small dot after each letter.

"M. E. for 'my Elizabeth'. You inspire me. Well, usually you do. Right now, you're driving me a little crazy", Jack said as he picked up his newspaper again.

"I inspire you?"

"Yes, Elizabeth. My sweet adorable beautiful wife. You inspire me. Now, are you going to let me finish the paper?"

"What happened in room 304 at the Mountie Academy that it's so special to you? Did you kiss someone there? And why is 'Hush, little baby' your favorite song?", she asked quickly beforehe could turn his attention away _. I have to know._

"Room 304 is the personnel office at the Mountie Academy. That's where they pass out our assignments. Its special because it's where I got my orders to come here and that's how I ended up meeting you. And my favorite song is 'Hush, little baby' because when I watch you sing it to Jacklyn, it makes me feel that my life is perfect. You told me to be honest and put down whatever came to mind."

Elizabeth felt her heart flutter a bit as she found herself simply staring at him.

 _He really is perfect_.

She looked over at Jacklyn who had fallen asleep in her blanket-lined soup tureen, and calculated how long the little girl would probably sleep.

Realizing the baby would probably sleep for at least twenty minutes, Elizabeth stood up and began to unbutton her blouse.

"Elizabeth, what are you doing?" Jack asked warily as he looked over the to edge of the newspaper.

"I'm inspiring you", she answered simply as she moved over to him and sat on his lap.

"Inspiring me?"

"To . . . to use your niblick with my mashie"

Jack crinkled his face in confusion and laughed. "Golf? You want to go play golf? And since when did you know that niblick and mashie are types of golf clubs?"

"Golf clubs?"

"Golf clubs", he repeated.

"Oh." Elizabeth pulled back and looked at Jack in the eyes. "Well, then it wasn't quite what I imagined."

"I'm guessing not", Jack replied with a grin.

Elizabeth began nuzzling his neck. "The baby's asleep for at least twenty minutes."

"Mmm."

"I'm hoping to inspire you all the way upstairs", she purred as she ran her lips along his neck and up to his mouth.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jack had left Elizabeth in their bedroom while he had gone downstairs to check on the baby.

As she bent down to pick up her clothes from the floor, Elizabeth noticed the leather-bound sketchpad peeking out from under the bed. She picked it up from the floor and was about to place it on the nightstand when she paused.

 _I wonder if he's used it yet_.

 _He probably hasn't had time with work and building the pigeon loft, but it seemed like such a perfect gift for him._

Elizabeth sat down on the edge of the bed's mattress and opened up the cover of the portfolio. Inside was a pad of paper, and ten small leather straps to hold individual colored pencils.

She flipped past the first page which just contained scribbling and then stopped at the second page with a jolt as she recognized her own body.

 _He must have done that when I slept in late one morning!_

Jack had colored her nightdress a pale green - just like the one she had worn earlier that week. Her long hair, with a tint of red penciled in between the brown strokes, was splayed over her shoulders. Jack had drawn her lying on her side. Her eyes closed as her head rested on a pillow. Her lips a faint pink. A wrinkled white sheet skimmed her hips.

"I told you that you inspire me", he said from the doorway where he was leaning against the doorframe and staring at her.

"Oh, Jack. It's beautiful."

"Glad you like it." He couldn't help but continue to grin as he saw how pleased she was by his drawing.

"You like your present?" she asked as she ran her fingers over the row of colored pencils. Each one was a rich shade with the color's name embossed in gold on the lower end. Red. Green. Yellow. Navy Blue. Pale Blue. Orange. Purple. Brown. Grey. Pink.

"I love it. You know how much I like to sketch. And the colored pencils are terrific. I'm so used to sketching with just a lead pencil that this is a nice change."

Elizabeth looked up with a start. "It is. Because now everything can be in color. It's not just different shades of grey!"

Even though she was speaking aloud, Jack had a feeling she wasn't talking to him but to herself.

"That's generally what colored pencils do", he said in puzzlement. "They make things not grey."

"That's it, Jack!" Elizabeth jumped from the mattress.

"What's it?"

"You've inspired me! I'll be back in twenty minutes. I'm going to the Flanders. You watch the baby", she said hurriedly as she finishing dressing, grabbed the sketching folder with its pencils and hurried from the room.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jack had almost begun to worry about Elizabeth's whereabouts when she walked in the front door.

"His parents had no idea?" Jack asked as he and Elizabeth sat on the couch after she had finished telling him about her visit with Stevie and his parents.

"No. But once I realized that he wanted the crayons with wrappers because he could read the names of the colors, everything else made sense. And he can count perfectly well, he just couldn't tell the difference between the green and red blocks. He knows that grass is supposed to be green and that apples are red because he's been told that. He colors what he thinks things are supposed to be. But he has to read the labels to know which is red and which is green."

"And he was fighting over the marbles because he couldn't tell which ones were his?"

"Exactly. He knows his by size and design but when the other children had similar ones, he got all confused because he can't tell the difference between some of the colors."

"Why did you say I inspired you?"

"Because it was just like you with your cases. I've been thinking about how he couldn't count the red and green blocks, how he insisted some of the marbles were his, and how he only wanted to use crayons with the paper on them. But I couldn't figure out if it was all related."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"You never ignore a clue until a case is solved. And so, I didn't either. And then I was staring at your pencils with their names. Suddenly, all the parts came together until they made sense. He's colorblind."

Jack stared at Elizabeth for a moment as she sat next to him looking very pleased with herself. Suddenly, he lowered his suspender straps from his shoulders, and began unbuttoning his shirt.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"I'm feeling inspired." Jack pulled his shirt out of the waistband of his pants and leaned over her.

"To do what exactly?" Elizabeth asked with a giggle.

"A little of this." Jack gently nibbled on her ear.

"And a little of this", he said as he left a trail of kisses on her neck.

Elizabeth leaned her head back to give Jack full access to her soft white skin. "You were already inspired to do that earlier. Remember. Less than an hour ago. I thought –", she gasped as his hand found her knee under her skirt.

"That was earlier. Now I'm inspired again. I can't help it. It's your fault", he said with a shrug.

"My fault?"

"When you get all teacher-like and try to pretend you're a Mountie at the same time, I find you extremely sexy."

"What about the baby?"

Jack looked over at baby who was holding her silver rattle and shaking it.

"She doesn't seem to be the least bit interested in what we are doing here on the couch. I, on the other hand, am very interested. And very inspired."

"Well then, I –" Elizabeth gasped in delight again as Jack's mouth separated the top of her blouse.

And, dear readers, I'll let you imagine the rest of what happened. ㈴2

 **Up next: Chapter 64.**

 **P.S. I got the theme for this chapter from the TV episode line where Jack tells Elizabeth that she inspires him, and from the episode where she tells him the same thing.**


	64. Chapter 64 - Rapunzel Part 1

**Chapter 64 - Rapunzel Part 1**

"What are you reading?" Elizabeth asked.

She walked into the parlor carrying the baby, and sat down on the couch next to Jack, who had a large hard-covered book in his hands.

"That book of fairy tales my mom sent. Most of them aren't that pleasant. I don't know why people think they should be read to children. This Cinderella story is pretty gross. One stepsister cuts off her heel to fit in the glass slipper and the other sister cuts off her toes. "

"I'm not a big fan of them either", Elizabeth responded.

Jack thumbed through the elaborately illustrated book and stopped at the colorful drawing of a young woman leaning out off a tower window. Her hair cascaded down the side of the stone tower as if it were a long blanket hanging down to dry in the sunlight.

"So explain this to me. You've got long hair. Is it strong enough for a grown man to climb up?" Jack asked in an amused voice. "Somehow I'm thinking it would hurt like heck."

Elizabeth smiled. "Let's not try it." She held their daughter on her lap and ran her hand through the small girl's soft short curls. "This little one is going to have beautiful long hair one day."

"I may just lock her up in a tower to keep all her suitors away." Jack chuckled as he looked adoringly at his namesake.

"That reminds me", he said. "I ordered that playpen from Sears and Roebuck. It should arrive on the next shipment from the depot. Or the one after that."

"Do you really think we need it?"

"Definitely. Between the dog and the kitten. And when we're at the home site, there'll be nails and tools and ladders. Too many things to worry about. I don't want her getting hurt. She's safest behind bars."

"I suppose you're right. And it will come in handy at the school when she starts crawling." Elizabeth agreed as she covered Jacklyn in adoring kisses. "The Mountie's little girl behind bars", she added with a smile.

* * *

Elizabeth desperately needed some adoring kisses of her own after school the next day. She looked down at her skirt and hoped that seven-year old Benny's vomit wouldn't stain the fabric. She felt like a poor housemaid rather than an educated teacher.

 _I should just stop wearing nice clothes to work,_ she thought as shepushed the baby pram through the dusty street.

"Elizabeth", Jack called out as he walked out of the jailhouse and quickened his pace toward her.

"I'll walk you home. How was your day?"

"The lessons went well. In fact, the day was going quite well until Benny felt sick after lunch. When he came to tell me, he was talking so quietly that I bent down to hear better. That's when he vomited all over me."

Jack gave a sympathetic grimace as he looked at his wife's skirt. "No need to tell me more."

"Oh no, let me continue. I should share the misery of my day. After Benny threw up, Patrick and Debbie began making exaggerated gagging sounds and holding their stomachs. Between the sight of the vomit on the floor and on my skirt, and the gagging sounds, Janey couldn't stop herself. She tried to run outside but didn't make it and left a trail of her own lunch down the aisle. Spewing some on Timothy. Which of course, made Timothy throw up and the rest of the students holding their mouths and running outside in disgust."

"I spilled coffee on my new boots this morning if that makes you feel any better", Jack offered as he matched his wife's pace.

"Nice try. But no, it doesn't. I just spend twenty minutes on my knees cleaning up the school house floor. Explain to me again why I'm a teacher."

"Because you're changing those children's lives for the better. You are making a real difference in their lives."

Elizabeth couldn't help but smile. "I suppose you're right. I just wish their upset stomachs weren't involved."

Jack stopped at the steps of the row-house and picked up baby Jacklyn from the pram. "I'll be home for dinner in a few hours." He gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek and then handed her to Elizabeth.

"Do I get one of those too?" Elizabeth asked with a smile.

"You, my dear, get a whole lot more."

Jack cupped Elizabeth's face in his hands and placed a long lingering kiss on her lips.

"Mmmmm. You are delicious", he said when he finally moved away.

"Even covered in vomit?"

"Even covered in vomit", Jack laughed.

"You really are my prince charming", Elizabeth said with a smile.

* * *

The next morning Jack took a soft green washcloth from the toast rack next to the wash bowl and wiped the bits of remaining shaving cream from his face. He no longer thought it odd to have their fancy wedding gifts, in this case a sterling silver toast rack, being used in unusual ways.

Elizabeth had managed to turn the expensive trappings of high society into useful items more appropriate for the simple home of a Mountie and school teacher in Hope Valley.

Sweet potato pie, the family's kitten, stretched her legs and finished cleaning her fur from her position in the large chafing dish in the corner of the bedroom floor. The ornate dish with its decorate etching, was now lined with one of Jack's old flannel shirts, and had been the designated sleeping place for the small feline ever since Elizabeth had declared that their bed was off limits to animals.

Jack set down the washcloth into the bowl and called out to the kitten. "Come on, sweet potato. You know you're going to follow me anyway."

As Jack made his way downstairs, the kitten dutifully followed after him.

* * *

Elizabeth was sitting at her desk in the parlor when Jack came down the staircase. She shoved the sheets of paper back into the envelope and placed it into another ornate toast rack, yet another wedding gift, which had now been turned into a letter holder.

"I was just re-reading the letter from your cousin Penny. I'm not sure how the Duke will ever get her to settle down. I'm afraid he has his hands full."

"She's got a good heart but she's had enough money growing up that she's always been able to do whatever she wanted. She's got an adventurous spirit and the money to fund it," Jack remarked as he walked past Elizabeth and headed into the kitchen.

"Jack, do you ever think about if our positions were reversed?" Elizabeth called out as she looked at the expensive silver box inlaid with turquoise which was on the desk, and contemplated her life. The box, a present from a wealthy family in Hamilton, was meant to hold cigarettes but Elizabeth was using it for her pencils.

Jack took a glass from the cupboard and set it down on the counter before answering.

"You mean if I were sitting at the desk and you were standing here in the kitchen?" he said loudly as he went to the icebox.

"No, silly. I mean our lives."

Jack poured some juice from a pitcher and carried his glass into the parlor. He gave Elizabeth a quizzical look. "You want to be a Mountie?" he asked in confusion.

"No, I don't want to be a Mountie", she replied in mild amusement.

"Because women can't be Mounties. And I don't want to be a school teacher."

"I mean if our lives were reversed _growing_ up!"

Jack, taking a sip of juice, gave her another quizzical look. "I have _never_ wanted to be a woman. And I can't imagine you as a man."

"I don't mean our genders! I mean our upbringing!" Elizabeth exclaimed in exasperation. "Just forget about it."

"No, no. Let me think about this," Jack said as he now found Elizabeth's thought process to be somewhat intriguing. "What brought this on?"

"I was just thinking about your cousin socializing with dukes, and princes, and princesses. And about your life. How different it was from mine growing up."

"Hmm. So, instead . . . you were the one born into the rich family in Hamilton and I was the one born in Aberdeen with a parent who had died?"

"Yes. How do you think we would have ended up?"

"In exactly the same place."

"The same place?" Elizabeth looked at Jack in surprise.

"Sure. Why not?"

"Because. Because it'd all be different", Elizabeth countered with a confused look.

"Nah. I have a feeling we'd end up in the same place."

"How can you say that? Everything would be different. I'd be rich. A socialite. With fancy belongings." Elizabeth held up the cigarette box for emphasis. "With debutante balls. You'd be middle class. No country club. No high society. No social status. No wealthy family."

"You'd still be a teacher, wouldn't you?"

Elizabeth thought about it for a moment. "I suppose. I've always wanted to be a teacher."

"You said once that you felt God calling you to be a teacher."

"I did."

"So you'd still be a teacher. And I've always wanted to be a Mountie. So, I'd still be a Mountie and you'd still be a teacher."

"But what if we didn't end up together?"

"We would." Jack said with conviction. "Maybe not Hope Valley. But somewhere. We'd end up together."

"How can you be so sure? Maybe I'd marry some rich society boy and never even meet you."

"No, you wouldn't."

"How do you know?"

"Besides the fact that I am the only man you have ever found remotely attractive and intelligent enough for you, and the fact that you practically swoon whenever you see me, and you have never been able to resist me –"

Elizabeth chuckled as she looked at Jack who was now perched on the edge of her desk.

"We were meant for each other. I know it was meant for us to have a life together."

Elizabeth was smiling at Jack's sentimentality when he spoke again as he moved away from the desk.

"Besides, we're the perfect height for kissing each other", he added with a shrug. "Can't let that go to waste."

* * *

Friday after dinner, Elizabeth grabbed a shawl from the hook by the front door, placed a kiss on Jacklyn's cheek, and gathered up her school books. Despite her busy schedule, Elizabeth had readily agreed when several adults in the area, impressed with her handling of her students, had shyly asked if she could teach them to read.

"We're meeting at Abigail's. I thought a table in the back would be less intimidating than the schoolhouse."

"I'll go with you", Jack offered as he finished folding some cloth diapers.

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"A million reasons."

"Name one."

"A pie is in the oven. I need you to take it out in 20 minutes."

"I like burnt pie. Name another."

"You have a daughter taking a nap."

"Okay, you got me there", Jack said. "How long will you be gone?"

"I'm not sure. She'll need to feed again in three hours, so I'll definitely be back by then. But it may be late. It's already seven o'clock."

"I'll wait up for you."

"I don't have any right to ask you to wait. I know you've had a long day."

"I'll wait up", Jack repeated.

"Jack, I am a grown woman. I don't need you to wait up. You had rounds this morning, worked on our new house, and did chores. You're exhausted. You need sleep. When I come home, I want to find you in bed. In the dark."

"Okay."

"Okay?" Elizabeth questioned suspiciously when he had so easily agreed.

"Okay", Jack repeated pleasantly.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth asked with furrowed brows when Jack looked up and down her blouse.

"Counting."

"Counting what?"

"How many buttons your blouse has."

"Whatever for?" she asked in confusion.

Jack leaned in low and whispered seductively in her ear. "So I know how many buttons to undue when you come in the dark bedroom tonight.

* * *

"Darn it!"

Elizabeth cursed under her breath the next morning. She let go of the covers she had been pulling over the mattress, and reached down to instead grab her stubbed toe.

The rising sun shone through the window, casting a warm glow on the bedroom. When Elizabeth looked to the floor, she spied the reason for her injury. The large fairy-tale book sent by her mother-in-law was lying on the floor by Jack's side of the bed.

 _He must have been reading it last night before I came home._ Elizabeth thought.

She picked up the heavy book. It was an inch thick, with a hard leather cover, and with pages which were easily fourteen inches by ten inches in size.

Elizabeth, deciding to take a quick break from straightening the room, sat on the edge of the mattress and opened the cover.

It didn't take her long to realize why Jack was fascinated by the book. For him, it wasn't the stories so much – although he was enthusiastically learning every children's story in anticipation of reading them, or some version of them, to Jacklyn. It was the illustrations that interested him.

They were beautiful.

Unlike the dull finish of the pages containing the stories' black printed words, the illustrations – at least two for each story – were printed on glossy sheets of paper interspersed with the matte pages.

The colors were the most vibrant Elizabeth had ever seen in a book. Bright golden hues of the sun. Glorious red rubies in tiaras. Deep rich shades of brown tree trunks in forests. Aqua blue and green scales of a mermaid.

It was like standing in a cathedral on a sunny day and gazing at the light streaming through stained glass windows. Only more wonderful because the depictions in the book were exquisitely detailed.

It was clear to Elizabeth that this was no ordinary book purchased at a cheap town bookstore. Jack's mother had refined taste in everything and this book was no exception.

Elizabeth thumbed through the pages and gazed at an illustration of a frog sitting on a lily pad in the crystal clear blue water of a pond.

 _The Frog Prince_ , she thought as she remembered the story. She smiled at the rendition of the frog on the page in front of her. The hapless frog – the color of jade green - was covered in pieces of slimy-looking algae despite the perfect pond. A princess with long chestnut colored hair was staring at him – perhaps wondering how disgusting it would be to kiss him.

"Elizabeth!" Jack yelled from the base of the steps, dragging her attention from the book and back to reality. "Are you coming down to eat?"

"Coming!" Elizabeth loudly called back as she slammed the book closed and set it on Jack's nightstand.

* * *

Elizabeth pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table where Jack was already sitting. He was holding the baby on his lap with one hand, while using the other to put a spoonful of oatmeal into his mouth.

"I know you like honey on yours but I couldn't find any", he noted after swallowing. "The honey pot was empty."

"It's in the crystal decanter. One holds cooking oil. One holds honey. One holds dishwashing liquid. The honey is in the smallest one", she said as she stood up and retrieved the smaller of the three finely hand-cut crystal decanters – all wedding gifts - from the counter.

Jack chuckled. "You know those are for brandy or wine."

Elizabeth sat back down, took the ornate stopper from the decanter, and allowed the thick amber colored honey to drizzle onto her oatmeal. "Yes, but I don't use brandy and wine every day", she replied with a smile.

* * *

Saturday afternoons were Elizabeth's second favorite day of the week. Second only to Sundays. Not only was there no school on Saturday but Jack usually only worked a few hours in the morning, and sometimes not at all.

When he had left after a late breakfast, Jack assured Elizabeth that he'd be back as soon as he could. With Mr. Martin, a cattle rancher, being out of town for three weeks, Jack had promised to periodically check on his family. To Jack's disappointment, but not to his surprise, Mr. Martin's wife seemed to think that 'periodically check on' included helping with the ranch chores. And Mrs. Martin had a long list of jobs that needed to be done.

A few miles from the Martin ranch, three men on horseback had arrived in Hope Valley the night before with their own specific job in mind. It was actually a quite simple mission in their minds. Fill their pockets and saddle bags with the wealthy Jack Thornton's cash and his wife's jewels before quickly leaving town.

It had been easy enough to find out the couple's routine. The citizens of Hope Valley seemed to think that the Mountie and the teacher belonged to the entire town and as such, had no reason for privacy. Therefore, the townspeople easily volunteered information on the couple's address – the last house at the end of row houses-, that they did not have live-in help, that Sergeant Thornton was the town's only Mountie, and that he was the consummate professional -always on the job if needed – even on a Saturday.

The men had first gotten the idea to rob the Thorntons almost a year ago. But at that time, it had been merely a fanciful idea from hundreds of miles away. They had pocketed away the newspaper clipping about the married couple and put it from their mind as more realistic and easier opportunities presented themselves.

But then, a month ago, they happened to have been in Union City when they had heard the visiting Mountie's name. One of the men pulled the newspaper article from his wallet, where it had been kept, creased and almost torn from numerous foldings and un-foldings. The impossible dream that they had talked about when they were drunk and bragging to themselves about what they could accomplish was about to become a reality.

From their conversations in Hope Valley, they had learned that Elizabeth would be busiest in the morning. Either taking some of her laundry to Mrs. Quiver, or doing the diapers and intimates herself in the backyard. Or else she'd be shopping at the mercantile before visiting Abigail's Café, where the towns people had remarked that she liked to go. Or perhaps, she'd be giving another reading lesson to some people. The men had also learned that with a baby only a few months old, Elizabeth would be home in afternoon to allow the baby to nap.

"She's a looker", the shortest of the three men remarked after taking a long drag on his cigarette and staring at the newspaper.

"We're here for the money and jewels. Nuthin else", his brother said as he smacked him on the arm and took the clipping from him. "Besides she won't be home when we rob the place."

"She wouldn't be if you two idiots hadn't wasted half the morning. Now she might be", the third man remarked as he loaded his weapon.

The alcohol at the Saloon the night before had proven too tempting and the men had drunk so much that they had overslept, delaying their plan to rob the family. Now, unfortunately, it was already afternoon. Which is why one of the men rode out towards the Martin ranch, and accomplished a preliminary task before he hurried back to town and rejoined his comrades as they all headed to the row-houses.

* * *

At the last row-house at the end of the street, Elizabeth, unaware that three unsavory men were at that very moment thinking indecent thoughts about her, put the baby down for a nap in her crib.

"Have a good nap, princess", she whispered quietly.

 **Up next: Chapter 65, Rapunzel Part 2**


	65. Chapter 65 - Rapunzel Part 2

**Chapter 65 – Rapunzel Part 2**

The taller of the men reached out and grabbed a fistful of Elizabeth's hair. He scowled as he yanked her across the room and ignored her yelps.

"Where is it?" he angrily demanded. "Where do you keep your jewels? Your money?"

Elizabeth had stood motionless in the bedroom while the men had ransacked the house. Petrified by the three intruders, she had held Jacklyn tightly to her chest and tried to keep the girl from sensing her fear.

Just fifteen minutes earlier, she had been in the bedroom putting laundry away when she had heard the front door open. Thinking it was Jack, she had casually yelled down that she was upstairs and continued putting clothes into the closet.

By the time she turned around – less than a minute later – a man she had never seen before was standing in the doorway, blocking her from leaving.

Now as she was dragged around by her scalp while being yelled out, Elizabeth's sense of dread increased significantly.

"I told you. I don't have any more jewelry or cash. We don't have a lot!" she said in tears.

"Do I look stupid?!" the man yelled. "I know who you are. Look at all this stuff!" He swung his arm around and motioned to the ornate chafing dish on the floor, the toast rack used as a washcloth holder, and in his hand, he held the elaborately detailed cigarette box, a popular item in high society homes, which Elizabeth used to keep her pencils.

Elizabeth cringed as the man's arm almost knocked over the lamp with the beautiful stained-glass Tiffany shade which Jack had given her as a present despite the home not having electricity.

"You have everything", she reiterated desperately.

As he held her tightly, the second man approached. His breath smelled of alcohol and cigarettes as he stood inches from her face.

Elizabeth felt her heart beat even quicker as the man's eyes moved up and down her torso. Suddenly, he reached out and tore open the front of her blouse. Grabbing her necklace with the locket in one hand, he yanked it from her neck. Breaking the chain and causing her to gasp in pain.

"Hand them over", he ordered.

Elizabeth stared at the man in confusion.

"The rings! Hand them over."

As much as Elizabeth loved her wedding and engagement rings, they were meaningless to her when compared to the more important thing in her hands. Jacklyn.

Quickly, Elizabeth shifted the baby in her arms and pulled off her rings. Without hesitation, she handed them to the man. "Now go. Please. Take whatever you want and just go."

A third man, this one with a scruffy beard and hands stained with filth, came up the steps and stopped in the doorway. "I can't find anything more. The stash must be hidden somewhere."

As one of the men again wrenched Elizabeth's head back by her long hair, a sudden misplaced image of another woman came to her mind.

Rapunzel. The young lady with long beautiful hair who had been locked away – a prisoner – in her tower.

The fairy-tale book, it's new binding broken by one of the men when he threw it aside and it hit a wall, lay on the floor ignored by the men who had no use for a book. As one of them crossed the room, he stepped on a glossy page leaving a dusty footprint on the face of the unlucky but hopeful frog prince.

Elizabeth, her hair still in the clutched fist of a man, was rudely pushed and dragged out the room and down the staircase. She grabbed onto the banister railing with one hand to keep from falling as she kept her daughter clutched to her chest.

"It's in the bank. The bank's safe," she said frantically as she tried to keep from tripping down the steps.

* * *

Elizabeth's attempt to have the men leave her and go to the bank in search of the Thorntons' assets was fruitless. Although two of the men took off down the street, one stayed behind in the row-house.

He leaned against the parlor wall smoking a cigarette, stinking up the room's air, and keeping a watchful eye on Elizabeth who sat on the couch trying to keep the baby quiet.

When the baby let out a cry of irritation, Elizabeth realized that in her anxious state she had been patting the girl too roughly.

She moved her hand slowly on the infant's back, soothing the area she had just been nervously beating like a tambourine, and glanced again at the wall clock. Watching the long big hand as it moved almost imperceptibly.

. . . two minutes

. . . four minutes

. . . five minutes

. . . eight minutes

Time seemed to elapse at half the speed it was supposed to move. It was as if the natural order of things had shifted.

Time had slowed to extend the terror of Elizabeth's predicament.

* * *

When the front door swung open, a startled Elizabeth jumped in her seat on the couch.

"Nice try but you were lying", the man said as he walked in.

"A few blows to the body and the banker was quite willing to open the safe and show us the near empty shelves."

"And he won't be coming to anytime soon", the burly man, who Elizabeth learned was called Chuck, remarked as he followed behind the other man and looked at Elizabeth. "Now where is it?"

"Please just leave," she pleaded. "My husband will be home soon. He's armed. You need to leave before he gets here."

"Get up!"

Chuck reached down and roughly grabbed her arm, causing her to wince from pain and from revulsion as the man spit tobacco chew onto the ground and it spewed on her skirt. She realized that she preferred the innocent vomit of her students to the disgusting habit of this man. He pulled Elizabeth off the couch and towards the window.

"In case you haven't noticed. There are three of us and we're all armed ourselves", the man remarked with a rude laugh as he looked out the window for any sign of Jack.

"Now take us to your valuables or your husband will have to deal with us. We were planning on making it easy with him out of the way, but if you refuse, well then, I suppose it will be three against one. A nice little ambush."

* * *

Elizabeth kept her back pressed against the wall as if hoping that it would absorb her and Jacklyn and keep them safe from the men, who were now ransacking the kitchen in a desperate attempt to find valuables. Having already searched the rest of the house, they were now emptying the cupboards.

The burliest of the men pulled off the flour-tin's lid and dumped the powdery contents onto the floor. Finding nothing in the tin other than the labeled substance, he angrily threw it across the room, where it smacked against the floor and bounced upwards nearly hitting Elizabeth. She clutched the baby tighter to her chest and turned to face the wall, shielding the small child from any future violence.

The man, angry at the lack of hidden jewels or wads of cash he had expected, grabbed a crystal decanter from the counter. He yanked out the top, put the bottle to his lips, and drank in thirstily.

The decanter shattered as the man, now furious, threw it against the wall and spit his mouth's contents onto the floor.

"What the hell is that?!" he screamed as wiped his mouth on his sleeve and spit again.

For the first time since the men had entered her home, Elizabeth felt something other than fear. She stared at him with steely eyes. "Dishwashing liquid," she said with pleasure.

Her impertinence earned her a slap to the face.

* * *

Jack rode along the river bank looking for any sign of the coyote. Normally nocturnal creatures when hunting, a coyote shouldn't be roaming the area in the afternoon.

An hour earlier, Jack had just left the Martin homestead, when a man – who said he was traveling through on his way to Union City – had ridden towards him. After a few pleasantries, the man had informed Jack about a coyote he had encountered a mile away. He explained that the strange acting animal had bared his teeth, growled, and seemed unafraid of the man or his horse. The man, who had claimed that he had shot at it, was pretty sure that the animal, which had arched its back in anger and managed to get away, was rabid.

Jack, knowing that a rabid coyote could be deadly to any schoolchildren it came upon, had been intent on finding the animal and destroying it. But after more than an hour of searching, he realized he might as well give up for the evening.

 _I'll notify the people to be on watch, and tomorrow I'll get a group of men to search._

As Jack headed back towards Hope Valley it never crossed his mind that the story of the rabid coyote had been a trick. A lie to keep him from the row-house. And so, unaware of his family in danger, he kept his horse at a gentle pace. Not going purposefully slow, but not galloping in a rush.

Initially, Jack had thought it was odd that the man who had approached him had been overly concerned that Jack look for the wild animal, and yet he hadn't offered to help him look for it.

If he had thought more about the man, Jack would have questioned how convenient it was that the man had come across the town's sole law enforcement officer while riding in the field.

But Jack didn't give it too much thought. After all, it was a Saturday. It was time for family, not for acting like an inquisitive Mountie.

* * *

Something snapped in Elizabeth when one of the men, the short one called Tony, decided that Jacklyn would be a nice incentive to motivate Elizabeth to talk.

She fixed her eyes on the man as he reached for her daughter. While Elizabeth had been frightened when the men roughly shoved her about and tore apart her home, she was anything but frightened when he reached for her child.

"Keep your hands off my daughter," she said in a cold deliberate voice.

The man gave a wry chuckle. "You've got grit. I'll give you that", he remarked.

"You've got everything of value. Now get out and let us be", she demanded as she straightened her shoulders and faced him defiantly.

"I'm in charge. Not you", he responded harshly.

"That may be true but if you hurt my daughter, I'll kill you."

The simple direct words came out of her mouth automatically. Without thought or premeditation. She didn't even know where the words had come from. But Elizabeth knew they were true. If any of the men harmed Jacklyn, she would kill them.

The man looked at the slender school teacher with the messy hair wearing a long skirt and torn blouse, and he knew she was no match for him. He gave another dry laugh, and let her keep holding the baby anyway.

The situation was already getting more out of hand than he had intended. This was supposed to have been a simple robbery. For now, he would let her hold her child.

* * *

Jack was leaving the livery after putting his horse in its stall, when Abigail hurried towards him. One of her arms was supporting the banker who was stumbling next to her.

"Jack, three men! They're after your money and jewels!"

"What money and jewels?" Jack asked curiously as he looked with concern at the swollen face of the banker, who was holding his side.

* * *

When Jack arrived home and saw the front door open, he knew he was too late. He ran through the small downstairs, stepping over books and broken dishes strewn on the floor.

Not finding anyone in the parlor or kitchen, he took the steps two at a time, yelling for Elizabeth. In his anxiousness, he even yelled for Jacklyn, seeming to forget that she was too young to respond.

The bedroom was likewise ransacked. The dresser drawers were thrown onto the floor. Their contents strewn about. Jack's heart skipped a beat when he saw Jacklyn's bassinet on its side on the floor. He allowed himself to breath when he saw that it was empty of an injured baby.

The muffled sound from the closet caused him to jerk his head around. "Elizabeth!"

He sprinted to the small enclosed space and yanked on the doorknob, only to have the door get stuck. The dresses and shirts that Elizabeth had neatly hung up less than two hours earlier, now laid wrinkled in piles on the floor.

"Elizabeth!" he yelled again as he kicked the clothes out of the way and pulled on the doorknob.

Rip, the family's old and apparently less than helpful guard dog, looked up at Jack. Tired of being locked up in the small dark space, the animal pushed past his owner and padded away.

Jack's shoulders slumped as he stared at the closet. A single empty hanger remained on the rod while clothes and a hat box littered the floor.

Jack turned and looked around.

His small wood and leather valet box lay empty on the bed. His ruby cuff-links – the same ones Elizabeth had once ingeniously used to trap a raccoon - were gone.

Even the baby's room had been searched. Her tiny clothes were on the floor. The crib, which she rarely used because the couple preferred her to sleep at night in a bassinet in their room, was disheveled. The tiny mattress was thrown out of the confines of the bars and torn open as someone searched it for hidden treasure.

"Elizabeth!", he screamed around wildly. "It's safe! Come out if you're hiding!"

But he knew she wasn't hiding. Every inch of the home had been ransacked.

And he knew in his heart that she would have been home when the robbers came. Abigail had told him that Elizabeth, in town earlier that day, had gone home to do laundry and let the baby nap.

Jack had seen the baby's pram by the front door when he ran inside. He had to admit the unthinkable. His wife and child had been home alone when the robbers had arrived.

Jack wondered if the men had knocked on the door – perhaps pretending to need something or looking for the town's Mountie. Or had they pushed their way inside with guns drawn?

"Jack!" the man's voice came up the staircase.

Jack hurried down stairs, where Tim Smyth, the Coal company's Pinkerton detective, was standing inside the door and staring at the chaotic parlor.

* * *

Tim knelt down and picked up a faded newspaper clipping from the floor. It was dated almost a year earlier. He stared at the photo of a tuxedo-clad Jack smiling at the camera with one arm around Elizabeth's waist. She was attired in her wedding reception gown. Jewels adorned her earlobes and one wrist. A large necklace was draped around her elegant neck.

Tim frowned. Even a black and white gritty newspaper photograph couldn't conceal that the necklace was a masterpiece of jewels.

"Jack, the men must have dropped this. They came here for a reason. For this necklace."

Jack grabbed the newspaper clipping and looked at it. "It's in Hamilton", he said hurriedly. "We left it in the family safe with the earrings and bracelet. Elizabeth said she'd never need it here in Hope Valley and if she wore it again, it would be for a ball in Hamilton."

"I'm guessing that's the kind of loot the men are looking for. And they won't be happy if they don't find it."

"Where would they take Elizabeth and Jacklyn? And why?" Jack raked his hands through his hair in nervous frustration.

"We'll get a search party. Head out in different directions," Tim replied.

As the men moved towards the door, Jack bent down and picked up the baby's silver rattle from the cluttered floor where it had been dropped as the baby and Elizabeth had been rushed away.

The sight of the house plans caused Jack to pause. The papers were scattered on the floor. Picking them up, he stared at his drawings for their new home and then moved quickly to his desk.

"It's not here", he said.

"What? What's not here?"

"The plat. The map of where our land is."

"It's probably here somewhere. This place is a mess", Tim said dismissively.

Jack hastily looked through the papers on the desk and pulled open the drawers. "It's not here! And neither is one of my plans. The most recent drawing. With the interior floor-plan."

"Jack, it's not important. It's just a plat. You can replace it." Tim wondered if Jack was losing his sanity.

"That's where they took them!"

"What are you talking about? Why would they go there? And why take Elizabeth and Jacklyn with them?" Tim doubtfully asked.

"Don't you get it?! They think we've hidden cash and jewels where we're building our house. Maybe in the floorboards or buried where our cellar will be. They've taken Elizabeth to make her show them where it is!"

The middle-aged man now spoke in a fatherly voice. "Don't worry, Jack. As long as she shows them where it is, they'll let her be. They won't harm her and the baby. Even if you don't have that necklace, they'll take whatever else you have hidden and leave town."

"Jack?" Tim asked in concern when he saw Jack's stricken face.

"There's nothing for her to show them", Jack replied in despair. "We don't have any loot! We don't have _anything_."

 **Up next : Rapunzel Part 3**

 **P.S. Thanks to the readers who motivated me to hurry up with this chapter. :)**


	66. Chapter 66- Rapunzel Part 3

**Chapter 66 – Rapunzel Part 3**

Just a short time earlier, while Jack had still been riding back to town, blissfully unaware of his family being held prisoner at the hands of the three men in search of instant wealth, Elizabeth had been repeating herself so often that she felt like a parrot which only knew one phrase.

Over and over again she had told the men that she and Jack didn't have any hidden valuables.

In tears. In fear. In defiance. Patiently. Impatiently. In exhaustion. Repeatedly, she had explained that they lived off of their salaries as a Mountie and a teacher. That Jack's family wealth was in Hamilton, not in tiny Hope Valley.

Finally, despite her profession and love of being a teacher, she had admitted that educating the men was useless. They simply refused to listen; instead they had become more and more angry at the lack of jewels and cash in the small home. They had no use for any item they couldn't carry easily in their pockets or saddle bags.

"We can't take anything cumbersome, you stupid bitch!" one of the men had yelled when Elizabeth had anxiously offered a sterling silver platter which had arrived in the mail the month before.

When one of the men had yanked a framed picture from the wall, hoping to find a safe hidden behind it, an emotionally drained Elizabeth realized that she couldn't be a scared mother and teacher if she wanted to ensure her family's safety. She couldn't think like a victim.

She had to think like Jack. Like a Mountie.

 _What would Jack do?_

 _If he was the one here, what would he do?_ she had desperately wondered as the men continued to search the home while she remained a prisoner at their whim. Moving when they told her to move. Watching them destroy her home. Listening to their threats of what they would do if they didn't find anything more of value.

 _If I were a Mountie, what would I do to protect Jacklyn?_

And then it had come to her.

* * *

Now, as Jack and Tim left the ransacked home in search of his family, Jack didn't have far to go to get men to join him as he headed to the home site. He and Tim had barely left the row-house when they were joined by several other men on horseback and leading a horse for Jack.

Eight minutes later, the horses, galloping at break neck speed, came over the crest of the hill. In the distance, Jack saw the men who had terrorized his wife. The three men – who just yesterday had never met the Thorntons – who had now thrown Jack into turmoil.

Frustrated with finding the new home barely built, the men had knocked over the pigeon loft and left the two birds cooing wildly in their upended home, but there was little else for the culprits to damage.

Finally giving up on finding hidden wealth, the robbers had mounted their horses and were heading west when one of them glanced backwards and saw Jack and the other men approaching.

The chase was on.

* * *

The robbers scattered.

One pulled his horse sharply to the left; Bill and the town blacksmith hurriedly kicked their horses in the flanks and chased after him, disappearing into the woods.

The shorter of the robbers, who had turned to the right, had the unfortunate luck of having the slowest of the trio's horses and he was soon overtaken by Tim and one of miners. He raised his hands in surrender as they pulled up on either side of him and fired a shot into the air when he tried to escape down into the far valley.

Jack caught up with his prey on the edge of the small pond a mile from his homestead.

* * *

Although he didn't know it at the time, Jack was coming face to face with the same robber who earlier in the day had left a stinging red mark on his wife's pale perfect cheek, leaving her in tears.

All Jack knew was that the man had done something to his family.

Afraid of killing the man if he fired his weapon at him, Jack instead urged his horse to go faster and faster until the animals, their bodies sweating from the chase, were merely inches apart.

It wasn't that Jack had qualms about killing any man who hurt his family but he wanted the man alive to tell him where his family was.

Jack dropped his reins and lunged at the man, grasping him by the upper torso and causing the two of them to fall from the horse.

They tumbled to the earth. Banging their bodies on the hard ground as Jack refused to let go.

The startled horses galloped away leaving the men rolling in the tall blades of grass and trading punches.

The robber desperate to escape.

Jack desperate to get answers from him.

* * *

The men turned over and over. Striking each other. In the ribs. In the face. In any body place they could find. Groaning in pain but continuing the fight. Whenever it seemed that one had the upper hand, the other made a move reversing the tide.

The man's fist sent Jack's head backwards and hitting the ground. As the robber scrambled to his feet and moved to get away, Jack pulled out his weapon.

"Where is she?!" Jack screamed as he pointed his service revolver at the man who was now standing on the edge of the pond.

Instead of answering or even running away, the man pitched himself at Jack. Knocking his weapon into the nearby water and landing another punch on Jack's face.

* * *

A beautiful egret, alarmed by the men invading its habitat, spread its wings and took flight. As the white bird flew away, its loud harsh squawk was ignored by the men who continued to pummel each as they stumbled into the pond.

They slipped on the muddy bottom and then righted themselves only to continue the attack.

"Where's my wife?" Jack ignored the pain in his jaw and grabbed the struggling man by the collar of his wet shirt.

The man stared at him with contempt.

"Go to hell."

Jack's left hand remained holding onto the man's collar while his right fist delivered a powerful punch to the man's face. Hitting him squarely in the center. Blood spurting out.

"Where's my wife?" Jack asked for the third time. His voice was deliberate and cold.

The man's knees had buckled after the most recent punch so Jack roughly pulled him upwards.

"I said go to hell", the pained man said defiantly.

Jack pushed the man's head under the water, and watched him struggle for a moment before jerking his face up, sending splashes of water and a lily pad flying into the air.

"Where's my wife?!" Jack demanded angrily as the man gasped for air. Blood from the man's nose now mingled with the pond water which dripped from his face.

When the man didn't immediately respond, Jack shoved his face down again. Holding him under. Allowing the swirling water to cover his eyes.

Unable to wait for the man to run out of air, an impatient Jack allowed only three seconds to pass before he pulled the scruffy face upward.

Jack should have been conflicted. But he wasn't.

His duty as a law enforcement officer didn't include mercilessly beating an apprehended suspect but he didn't care. His duty as husband and father surpassed anything else. His love for his family filled him with callous disregard for the health of the bloody injured man choking on water at his feet.

"Where is she?!"

"The bitch is at the jailhouse", the man, finally exhausted from the fight, replied.

"And my daughter?"

"She's there too."

Jack punched the injured man in the jaw and then released him, letting him drop with a splash into the knee-deep water.

* * *

Elizabeth paced the wooden floor.

She fed the baby.

She took the incredibly small sewing kit which she always kept for emergencies in her pocket, pulled out the needle threaded with white, and sewed her blouse as best as she could under the circumstances.

And she waited.

She waited for Jack.

* * *

"Thank God", Jack exclaimed when he rushed in the dimly lit jailhouse and saw Elizabeth sitting on one of the cots usually reserved for a prisoner.

"Jack, you're here! I knew you'd find us!", she said as she quickly stood up and approached the cell door. She wrung her hands nervously and then grasped the iron bars.

"It was three men! Did you get them?!" she asked hurriedly.

"I did. Bill and Tim have them. You're safe."

Jack fumbled in his pocket for his key-ring containing the cell key and realized that he must have lost it when he was fighting in the grass or in the pond. He quickly glanced to the wall where the spare key should have been.

But the wall hook was empty.

In dismay, he guessed that the men must have the spare key with them or perhaps it too was lost in the pond.

He wanted his wife in his arms now. Not separated by iron bars.

"I've got it", Elizabeth offered when Jack looked at her in despair as he irrationally considered whether it would be quicker to get the blacksmith to cuts the bars or to drain the pond for the key.

"You've got it?" Jack asked in confusion. "The key?"

"Of course. I locked us in here on purpose" Elizabeth replied. She spoke as if it should have been obvious to anyone that knew her.

Before a perplexed Jack could respond, Elizabeth took the key from her skirt pocket and handed it through the bars to Jack, who hastily put the key in the lock.

Elizabeth momentarily turned her back to Jack, retrieved Jacklyn, who was babbling happily from the cot, and then walked the few steps to her husband who had now entered the cell.

"You're bleeding", she said with concern as she looked at his split lip.

"And you're wet", she added in puzzlement as Jack pulled her into his arms.

"Forget about me. What about you? Are you okay?"

Elizabeth ignored his concern as she continued to look at him. She reached out with one hand and pushed his wet hair from his forehead. "Your cheek is swollen. And your eye may be black and blue by tomorrow. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Elizabeth! I don't give a damn about me. What about you?!"

"We're fine."

"Are you sure?"

Jack's observant Mountie-trained eyes noticed Elizabeth's recently sewn blouse which she hadn't had enough thread to finish mending. His hand slowly extended and he gently fingered her blouse, staring at the seam before turning his concerned gaze to her eyes.

Elizabeth slowly took his hand in hers and held it tenderly. "I'm fine", she reassured him.

"Are you sure? Really?"

"Yes, I'm sure", she replied with a small smile. "I imagined I was you."

"Imagined you were me?"

"I imagined what you would do if you were facing dangerous armed men and you were outnumbered."

Jack looked at her dumbfounded. "What _would_ I do?"

"You'd outwit them. So I decided to outwit them and take your advice."

"My advice?" Jack look at her in bewilderment. "What advice?"

"Well it wasn't so much advice as what you said", Elizabeth said as she continued to look at him with concern.

"What did I say?"

Elizabeth temporarily ignored his question. She shifted the baby into one arm as she reached up and gingerly touched his forehead. "Are you sure that you're okay? You may need stitches for this cut above your eye."

"Elizabeth!"

"Oh, right," she said when she saw his concerned frustration. "I remembered what you said about Jacklyn and Rapunzel".

Elizabeth separated from Jack and started to walk out of the cell. "Let's get out of here."

She hesitated with worry as she crossed the threshold. "Are you sure the men are caught?"

"Yes, they're caught. Bill and the others are bringing them in. They'll be here any minute. I galloped the whole way here. I expect they didn't feel the need to go quite as fast. But what are you talking about? What does Rapunzel have to do with this?"

"I remembered what you said. About putting Jacklyn in a tower to keep her away from suitors."

"From suitors?"

Jack had no idea where this conversation was going. And despite being married to her for over a year, he sometimes - well often - found it difficult to keep up with how his wife's mind worked. For a brief second he wondered if the trauma of the ordeal had affected her sanity.

"Well, in this case it obviously wasn't suitors I was concerned about."

"Tower? The only tower we have in town is the water tower", Jack said in continued puzzlement as he took Jacklyn from Elizabeth's arms.

He held the small child to his chest. Breathing in her baby scent as he kissed her soft hair. Running his fingers gently through his daughter's short curls.

"Jack, be sensible. The water tower wouldn't be the least bit safe", Elizabeth said dismissively. "Climbing the ladder would have been impossible in my heels. And carrying her at the same time? Far too dangerous. I was trying to keep her safe not cause her to fall from a great height. And then what would we have done at the top of the water tower?"

When Jack just stood there looking befuddled, Elizabeth continued.

"I'm talking about the playpen."

"The playpen?"

"Don't you remember? You said that Jacklyn was safest behind bars. You were right. As you often are", she admitted with a smile. "She would be safest behind bars. Where no one could get to her."

"Behind bars?"

Jack realized that his end of the conversation consisted largely of repeating his wife's words, but at the moment, he couldn't think of any other way to respond.

"The Mountie's daughter behind bars". Elizabeth grinned.

"So, you locked yourselves in the cell so the men couldn't hurt you?

"Exactly. They saw the plat and plans for the new house and got the idea that maybe my wedding jewelery was buried there. But I didn't dare let them take us there. Who knows what they would have done to us once they got us out of town. I convinced them that we had valuables hidden in the jailhouse. The streets were empty; it seems everyone was relaxing at home this afternoon or out fishing or somewhere, but they sneaked us in the backdoor anyway. When we got here, it was easy enough to sneak the key from the wall and dash into the cell. Before they knew what I was doing, I had locked us in."

"How did they react?"

"They were furious of course. They threatened to shoot us but I knew they wouldn't. I kept Jacklyn behind my back and I knew it wouldn't do them any good if they couldn't take one of us hostage and -"

"My God, Elizabeth, you could have been killed!"

"Jack." Elizabeth's eyes held a combination of a strong reprimand mixed with concern, "From the looks of things, so could have you."

"These were criminals! I'm a Mountie! And a man. I'm trained to deal with this. You -"

"This is not my first time dealing with criminals. Have you forgotten Mr. Spurlock and the Tollivers?", she said as she cut him off and proudly threw back her shoulders.

Despite her fairly calm demeanor, Jack got the sense that if he pressed her, she may lose some of her resolve, so he let Elizabeth continue with her explanation. "I'm okay. Go on."

"With us out of reach, they had to leave. And I reminded them that if they shot a Mounties' family, they would have the entire Royal Northwest Mounted Police Force looking throughout every town in Canada for them."

"You tricked them into coming to the jail and then locked yourself in a cell", Jack said in amazement.

"That about sums it up."

"Your mind works in the most intriguing way."

"That's why you married me."

"I did. Among other things." Jack chuckled. "You didn't need me to rescue you after all."

Elizabeth looked tenderly at her husband as he held their baby. "I will always need you."

"You're covered in algae", she giggled as Jack started to pull her into another hug with his one free arm. She pulled a small piece of the green slime from his shoulder and dropped it to the floor.

"I'm sorry. I was in the pond. It's murky."

He looked down at his wet clothes which were covered in the bits of algae, and noticed a snail slowly crawling on his shirt.

"I suppose I seem a bit like a frog", he apologized as he flicked off the bug.

Elizabeth chuckled. To Jack's surprise, instead of being repulsed by his water-logged appearance, she leaned in close and pressed her body against his. "If I kiss a frog, I believe he turns into my prince charming", she whispered romantically with a small grin.

Jack laughed. "You really are the most incredible woman I know. Now let's get you home."

* * *

The Thorntons came home to a house in total disarray.

They stood amidst the broken crystal, the drawers thrown on the floor, the pantry food tossed around.

Friends came, and without being asked, immediately began to help clean up.

Elizabeth retrieved an unbroken bottle of Witch Hazel, picked up a clean dishcloth from the floor, and instructed Jack to sit down in a kitchen chair. She stood between his strong legs which were still encased in his wet pants, and looked down at his face which was tilted up towards hers.

He placed his hands on her waist.

"I love you", he said tenderly.

"I love you too. Now hold still while I stitch you up", she said with a smile as she dabbed the damp cloth above his eyebrow.

"Ouch"

"I haven't even started stitching yet."

"Normally you kiss me to take away the pain," he reminded her with a grin.

Her lips were soft and warm as they touched his forehead and then his mouth, letting them linger for just a moment before she looked around, and then returned her attention to his eye.

"Uh uh. More," a dissatisfied Jack said as he placed a hand behind Elizabeth's neck and gently pulled her face down to his.

This time, the kiss was long and sweet.

Until it became long and passionate.

And then it became _very_ long and passionate with Elizabeth somehow ending up sitting across Jack's thighs as he enjoyed her taste.

Finally, Elizabeth pulled away.

"Now, hush", she whispered as she stood up and began tending to his eye. "We can't have the whole town gossiping about us."

Jack chuckled. "We're married. I think people expect us to kiss."

"Not like that", she said in a scandalized voice.

Jack chuckled again. "I hope most definitely like that."

* * *

Despite the help of several neighbors, it still took hours to get the house back to order.

Elizabeth, a scarf on her head and looking somewhat like a scullery maid, had swept up pieces of broken glass, refolded, rehung, and put away the clothes and linens that were still clean, remade the bed, and wiped the tobacco spit from the parlor floor. Jack had done his share; taking a few photographs for evidence, rehanging pictures on the wall, up-righting furniture, sewing up the baby's mattress, and writing up a preliminary Mountie report on the incident.

The spilled flour had been swept from the kitchen floor, but Elizabeth found tiny powdery kitten paw-prints seemingly everywhere she looked. It was apparent that Sweet Potato, the orange bundle of fur, had wandered through the flour-strewn kitchen floor and then across the parlor furniture before clawing her way up the curtains and hiding on the rod until Jack, her favorite human, had come home and rescued her.

Every so often, Jack glanced at Elizabeth as she cleaned up their belongings. He paused when he saw her staring wistfully at items, but whenever she glanced up and caught him looking at her, she simply smiled and made a comment such as "I never liked this anyway", "it's just belongings", "it can be replaced", or "those idiots only took one of this pair of candlesticks."

And so, he just smiled back and let her be.

* * *

The moon was high in the night sky and Elizabeth lay sound asleep as Jack stared at her. She had fallen asleep almost as soon as she had crawled into bed. Even before Jack had turned down the kerosene lamp.

Her wedding and engagement rings were back on her finger where they belonged and from where – until that afternoon - they hadn't been removed in over a year.

Earlier in the evening, Tim Smyth had stopped by the house with some of their belongings. Although Bill kept most of the stolen items and was making an inventory of them for criminal charges, he had instructed the Pinkerton detective to return the rings and the small silver locket to the Thorntons.

When Tim had arrived, Elizabeth had stopped putting stacks of novels back into a bookcase, and happily clutched the rings in her palm. She was about to put them back on her left-hand finger, when Jack wandered into the parlor and stopped her.

"Let me." He took the rings from her hand without waiting for a response.

His voice had been hoarse with affection and he had choked up when he spoke again. "Elizabeth Thatcher Thornton, will you be my wife forever?"

He had meant to be sweet and romantic. And he was. But after everything she had been through, Elizabeth was emotionally overwhelmed.

Jack had slid the first ring on her finger, and was just sliding on the second ring, when the teardrop had fallen past his eye and landed on his hand.

At first, Jack had been confused by the wetness. Not realizing it was a salty tear, he had looked up the ceiling, silently cursed, and wondered if the roof was once again leaking.

As some of the town women had continued to move about the parlor, sweeping and moving furniture, Jack had ignored them, and had even bypassed looking at Elizabeth's face as he had instead looked down at his wife's hand again. He had brought it to his lips. Kissing it tenderly.

His lips had still been touching her flesh when he had noticed her trembling. Another drop of something wet had then fallen on his hand. Jack had turned his gaze to her face, expecting to see a smile at his romance and had been surprised by the flow of tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, Elizabeth", he had said quietly as he had pulled her shaking body into his arms. Ten minutes later, he was still holding her sobbing body as their neighbors had quietly walked past them and out the door.

Now, in bed, Jack lifted her hand and gently held it. He ran a finger along hers. Touching the rings.

He wasn't surprised that she continued to sleep. She had slept through the thunder rolling across the night skies, through Jack accidentally dropping a book on the floor, and even through Rip barking to be let out one final time for the night. It seemed that nothing would rouse her from her sleep tonight.

She was exhausted.

And with good reason: the morning chores, the robbery, sitting worriedly in the jail cell, cleaning up the mess left by the robbers. Thankfully a neighbor had taken one look at the kitchen and walked out of house. Returning thirty minutes later with dinner for them. While that kind gesture had helped, it had still been a long tiring day.

Not wanting to wake her but realizing she was so tired that she could most likely sleep through anything, Jack gently - ever so gently - touched his lips to hers in a good night kiss.

Elizabeth's eyes fluttered open immediately.

"Is everything okay? The baby?"

"Everything's fine. I was just kissing you good night", he said quietly.

"Are you sure everything's okay?" Her words were sleepily mumbled as she closed her eyes again.

"Everything's fine. Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you", he explained as she snuggled closer to him.

As Jack looked at her chest moving slowly in and out, he wondered how she managed to sleep through the earlier noise and even sleep through him moving her hand, and yet, she had been immediately awakened by his soft silent kiss.

Silly Jack.

He should have known that no matter how deep her sleep, Elizabeth would be awakened by her true love's kiss.

Even if she was just a simple school teacher in a small town rather than a princess in a book of fairy tales. ㈴2

 **Up next: Chapter 67**

 **Thank you everyone for your messages and reviews. Several people have mentioned to me that they also like my Vignettes. I do have a vague idea for parts of Vignette 14 but I am still waiting to think up a good overall theme. I've already written about gypsies, wishes, ghosts, bad guys/gal, and other strange things in my vignettes, and as you know, each has a unique theme, so I just need for my imagination to come up with something really interesting for number 14. :)**


	67. Chapter 67 - Name Changer

**Chapter 67 – Name Changer**

"Jack, would you mind terribly calling the baby "Willie?", Elizabeth asked as she sat on the couch gently running her hand over the short soft brown hair of their daughter who was sitting on her lap and propped against her chest.

"Why would I call Jacklyn 'Willie'?" Jack asked with crinkled brows.

He was sitting at the table across the room cleaning his service weapon. After last week's encounter with a trio of thieves, Jack was more insistent than ever about being prepared for any unexpected situation. As the couple sat in the row-house after dinner, the house was secure with the front door, the back door, and every downstairs window closed and locked.

"It's short for Willemenia."

"Let me rephrase my question", Jack said with a chuckle. "Why would I call Jacklyn 'Willie' even if it's a nickname for Willemenia?"

"My mother is coming for a visit next week and it's going to be her first time seeing Jacklyn, and I just think she may be expecting us to call her Willie."

"Why would she be expecting us to call her Willie? Especially since her name is Jacklyn", Jack asked in confusion.

"She just may think it's a cute nickname for her."

"A cute nickname?"

"A term of endearment."

"Willie?"

"Yes. Willie."

"Short for Willemenia?"

"Yes. Short for Willemenia."

"Why?" Jack asked suspiciously. He set down his revolver on the table, leaned back in his chair, and stared at Elizabeth. Waiting for an explanation.

"Because when people love people they give them a term of endearment. You know that. You've given me a nickname. And you called the baby Sweet potato pie once. And you call her Little Jack sometimes. And well, people just like nicknames for people they are fond of."

"You know perfectly well that's not what I meant." Jack raised his eyebrows causing him to feel the stitches above his one eye as Elizabeth purposely avoided his gaze. "Elizabeth, why would your mother think we would call Little Jack 'Willie'?"

"Umm." Elizabeth paused and concentrated on the baby's curls. "Just because?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm a Mountie. You can't avoid answering me once you've piqued my curiosity. Now spit it out. Why does your mom think we'd be calling Jacklyn 'Willie' or 'Willemenia'?" Jack asked with a curious smile wondering what explanation she could possibly have as to why Jacklyn would suddenly be called an entirely unrelated name.

"Okay. Listen. Don't get upset."

"Why would I get upset?"

"My mother may be under the mistaken impression that our daughter's name is Willemenia Thornton", Elizabeth said with a grimace as she looked anxiously at Jack.

"She what?!"

"She may be under the mistaken impression that –"

"I heard you the first time! Why would she think that?"

"There may have been a little misunderstanding about our daughter's name. That's all," Elizabeth said with a shrug.

"A _little_ misunderstanding?!"

Elizabeth shifted the baby on her lap and gave her a kiss on the head. She had been dreading this moment since she got Julie's most recent letter.

"You promised you wouldn't get upset!"

"I did not!" Jack countered.

"Well you were supposed to!" Elizabeth retorted.

"What did you do?"

"Who said I did anything?"

"You obviously did something or we wouldn't be having this conversation."

A scowl crossed Elizabeth's face before she sighed in defeat and started her explanation.

"When you sent a telegram to my mother telling her that we had the baby, you didn't tell her the name."

"It was just a short telegram. To let her know it was a healthy girl and you were healthy. You were going to write her the next day. Didn't you write her?"

"Yes. Yes. You know I did. But –" Elizabeth paused and scrunched her face into a sheepish grimace before continuing with an apologetic shrug. "I was really tired when I wrote to her the next day. You know how I was that first week".

Elizabeth looked to Jack for confirmation about her exhaustion in the days after the birth.

When he just stared at her with a bewildered look, she continued. "Anyhow, I was feeling all sentimental and emotional and I wrote her that when choosing the name I thought of the man who had the greatest and most wonderful impact on my life – or something like that. I can't remember exactly."

"And?"

"I guess I forgot to actually tell her what we named the baby."

"You forgot to tell her?!"

"I was tired!"

"So tired that you forgot to tell her Jacklyn's name?!"

"Yes, I was that tired! You try giving birth and breastfeeding!"

"It's a name. Not baking pie or making stew or writing a novel!"

"I didn't do those things either my first week after she was born! What does that have to do with anything?! Was I supposed to make pie after giving birth?!"

When Jack just glared at her in disbelief, Elizabeth continued.

"Because I find it difficult to make a pie on a good day! I can't even imagine doing it on a day like that. My goodness, that would be expecting an awful lot from me, don't you think? A baby and pie in the same week," Elizabeth asked as she thought more about it.

Jack took a deep sigh and looked at his wife with a mixture of amusement and bewilderment. "Go on. Keep explaining this to me. The name. Not the pie making."

"As I said, I was tired."

"Too tired to tell you mother the name of our baby."

"I thought that it would be obvious based on what I wrote! Or at least she could guess it! Julie figured it out! But Julie wrote that mom assumes that we named the baby after my father, William."

"William?"

"Willemenia - the female version of William."

"So why doesn't Julie just correct her?"

Elizabeth frowned. "She doesn't want to hurt her feelings. She wrote that mom is thrilled with the name. She says my father would be very honored. Soooooo . . . do you think you can call her Willie? Just for Mom's visit?" she asked hopefully.

"No."

"No?"

"NO!"

"There's no need to get angry. It was just a suggestion."

"Why in the world would I hide the fact that my daughter is named after me?"

"If you loved me, you -"

" _IF?!_ If I loved you?!"

"Okay. Now that was a bad choice of words on my part. I know you love me", Elizabeth acknowledged hurriedly as she looked at Jack's face and then his right knuckles, which were still healing from his capture of last week's thief.

"Elizabeth, be reasonable. Your mom has got to be told her name. What happens when Little Jack is old enough to talk. She's going to say her name. Your mom is going to hear it then."

"But that's not for at least a year! That will give me time to tell my mom."

"You have got to be kidding me! You'd wait a year?!"

"She's so happy with our daughter's name."

"But it's _NOT_ our daughter's name!" Jack exclaimed.

"But she doesn't have to know that!"

"What about the baby announcement? It was in the paper. She must have seen it."

"Yes, about that. . . ." Elizabeth paused for a second before continuing.

"They don't get the Hamilton paper so she wouldn't have seen it when it came out. And then your mom apparently sent a copy to my mom, which was very nice of her, but Julie luckily got to it first and hid it from my mom. Thank goodness for Julie. Apparently, my mom wrote to your mom and asked her to send another copy, so your mom sent another copy. Which Julie fortunately managed to snag before my mom saw it. She really is the best sister. And then –'

"Wait a minute." Jack interrupted. "So that's why in my mom's last letter to us, she was going on and on about the poor state of Canada's postal service and how she was going to make an appointment to see the Post Office General to complain about taxpayer money and lost letters?"

"Possibly", Elizabeth said with a guilty shrug.

"For goodness sakes, Elizabeth, you have got tell her. It's been weeks!"

"I can't," Elizabeth whined. "Think about it. She'll be so hurt. It's an honor for someone to have a baby named after a family member."

"I know! She's named after me!"

"But, Jack. Imagine how she'll feel. Imagine if for weeks you thought the baby had one name and then suddenly you discovered she had an entirely different name."

"You mean like if I thought my daughter's name was Jacklyn Elizabeth Thornton only to discover weeks later that she was named after your father", he said dryly.

Jack put his revolver and cleaning supplies away in the desk drawer, walked across the room, and took his daughter from Elizabeth's arms. "I am taking _my namesake_ into the kitchen for a bath."

"It's just a name!" Elizabeth called out after them.

"Oh, believe me. I've got quite a few names for you right now," Jack muttered under his breath. "Ridiculous. Strange. Bizarre. Hare-brained. "

"I heard that!"

"Good!"

* * *

Six minutes later, the steam from the boiling water forced its way through the small opening in the kettle and emitted a high-pitched note.

Jack holding his naked daughter in one arm, removed the whistling kettle from the stove and poured its contents into the towel-lined sink, which already contained an inch of the cold water from the pump.

"You're not welcome in here", Jack said over his shoulder when Elizabeth stood in the doorway watching him test the temperature of the water before carefully putting their daughter into the sink. "This room is only for people with Jack in their name. For me and my daughter, _Jacklyn_. We're the Jack Thornton Club."

Elizabeth chuckled. "I surrender. I will find a way to tell my mom."

"Then you can come in."

"Even if I don't have Jack in my name?"

"Give us each a kiss and we'll ignore that flaw."

Elizabeth smiled and walked across the room. She wrapped her arms around Jack's waist and kissed his cheek. "I love you. You know that, right? You truly are the best man I have ever met."

Not satisfied with the simple peck, Jack turned his head sideways towards her.

"Your mom should be happy with the middle name. That it's Elizabeth", he remarked after getting a second kiss from her. This time on the lips.

"Umm. About that . . ."

"Elizabeth!"

 **Up next: Chapter 68**


	68. Chapter 68 - Mothers and Daughters

**Chapter 68 – Mothers and Daughters**

Elizabeth, juggling a basket of food on one arm and a textbook in the other, eagerly hurried towards the row-house at the end of the street. As she got closer to home, the sun which was not yet directly over-head, promised it would be a beautiful day.

Elizabeth's mother had arrived yesterday evening, having first taken a train from Aberdeen to Bradford, then a stage coach to Union City, and finally a private car to Hope Valley. Due to her late arrival, she and Elizabeth hadn't had much time to talk before they all went to bed last night.

Leaving her mother at home after a quick breakfast, Elizabeth had left the house early this Saturday morning, dropped off some laundry at Mrs. Quivers, picked up some groceries from the mercantile, and spent an hour between traveling to and from the Closer Farm and spending time with ten-year old Wilbur Closer, who had missed school Thursday and Friday due to a broken leg.

Now, Elizabeth was ready to spend the rest of the day being a daughter. She was just slightly nervous about whether her mother would approve of how she was running her own home.

"How did everything go while I was gone?" Elizabeth asked as she walked in the front door and saw Jack sitting at the table.

Jack stood up from his chair, took a final sip of his coffee, and set down his cup on the saucer before casually answering.

"Jacklyn is down for her morning nap, I've got to get going, and your mother is under the impression that I physically abuse you."

Jack took his hat from the hook on the wall, kissed Elizabeth on the cheek, and calmly added, "Perhaps you can clear up that little misunderstanding before dinner."

Elizabeth was still standing there speechless when Jack walked out the front door and closed it behind him.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth finally felt that she had gotten through to Grace Thatcher.

"You're telling me the truth?" the older woman asked with concern.

"Yes! I promise!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

Grace sighed. "Well I suppose three thieves does seem slightly more likely."

" _Slightly_ more likely? It's totally more likely! How could you even think that Jack would hurt me?"

"You had a broken necklace, a newly repaired hole in your bedroom wall, a broken piece of glass under the buffet that you must have missed while sweeping, a poorly mended blouse and I know how well you sew. Not to mention that he had healing cut above his eye that he said he got by being clumsy which I didn't believe for a minute."

"You know I would never stand for being abused", Elizabeth scoffed.

"I would certainly hope not. I assumed you may have slugged him in defense. That would explain his injury", Grace said with a shrug.

"Mother, Jack loves me. He would never lay a hand on me!"

"Well, not that way", Elizabeth added. "Obviously, he's laid a hand on me. I mean, after all, we have a baby. But that's an entirely different kind of hand. I mean touch. I mean he's touched me. With his hands. But in a nice way. I mean a good way. A nice good way. Not a polite way."

Elizabeth felt herself babbling uncontrollably as her mother simply stared at her. "Not that he's not polite. Because he is polite. Just not in bed. I mean he could be polite in bed. If I wanted him to be. Be polite. But it's not like we have to take turns. Although we do take turns. I mean not really _turns_ so much as we share."

When her mother just stared at her in bewilderment, Elizabeth nervously continued to talk as if she had lost the ability to be silent. "I do my part and he does his part. And well, you know what his part would be. I mean not his physical part!" Elizabeth shrilly added. "I mean his emotional part. Not that he doesn't have a physical part! Of course, he had a physical part. He's a man. It's –"

"Enough!" Grace Thatcher said as she raised her hands in surrender. "Please, no more. I believe you. But why didn't Jack tell me when I asked about his injury? He just came up with some lame excuse about being clumsy."

"I asked him not to tell you about the thieves."

Grace scoffed. "Does he always do what you ask?"

Elizabeth, happy to no longer be uncontrollably discussing intimate details, shrugged. "Pretty much."

"Good. That's how it should be with a husband." Grace nodded in approval. "Do you always do what he asks?"

Elizabeth shrugged again. "Pretty much."

"So, it appears that you two are still in love. I suppose that should make me feel better. But, Elizabeth, dear, why didn't you just tell me about the thieves? Either in a letter or when I got here yesterday."

"Because I knew you would worry."

"A mother always worries. And I do worry about you living here in this small town. And about whether –", Grace paused.

"About whether what?"

"Your husband is – well, you know."

"What? What is Jack?"

Grace Thatcher didn't immediately say anything so Elizabeth, wondering what her mother was thinking, offered the obvious words to describe her husband.

"Well-mannered?"

"Devoted?"

Grace just stared at her daughter.

"Hard-working?"

"Intelligent?"

"Professional?"

 _Gorgeous? Knee-buckling sexy?_ Elizabeth thought but decided to keep those images to herself.

"Dedicated?" she suggested instead.

Grace sighed deeply and wondered how her daughter could be blinded to the truth. Finally, she spoke.

"Naïve."

"Naïve?!" Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, naïve. I wonder if he can protect you. With that high-society background of his. I mean, really, how well can he take care of you and the baby?" Grace asked.

"What are you talking about?! He's wonderful", Elizabeth exclaimed in defense of her husband.

"He grew up so privileged and pampered. I doubt he ever got into a fight growing up. Are you sure he can protect this family?"

"I just told you. He fought three thieves to protect us!"

"I thought you said he only fought one of them", Grace reminded Elizabeth with raised eyebrows.

Elizabeth glared at her mother. "Well, yes. That's true. But he could have beaten all three of them if he wanted to", she declared forcefully.

"Could he? Really?"

"Of course, he could! He's got muscles!"

"He just always looks so impeccable", her mother said skeptically. "In that uniform of his. Not a smudge of dirt on it. And not a hair out of place. How does he keep his hair so neat?"

"He can be messy! And he gets a lot of haircuts. Every month. And sometimes he uses Gentleman's Royal pomade to keep it neat!"

"But can he get down and dirty to defend you?"

"Of course, he can! He's a Mountie!"

"Maybe they just took him because of his family name?" Mrs. Thatcher suggested pensively.

"He was in the top of his class!"

"If you say so, dear."

* * *

Ten hours later, Elizabeth pulled back the covers on her side of the bed and crawled in next to Jack. It had been a long day. If it were possible for a day to have more than twenty-four hours, this one did.

Her mother had critically examined Elizabeth's housekeeping, her new clothes, the way she handled the baby, her menu choices, and every other aspect of her life. She had even offered suggestions on how to breastfeed more efficiently until Elizabeth suggested that maybe her mother would like to go to the Saloon and play poker with some of the men in town.

"You must be glad your mother is visiting," Jack said as he looked up from the book in his lap.

"I am." Elizabeth sighed. "I just forgot what it's like to be a daughter."

She loosely braided her hair, leaned over and gave Jack a quick kiss, and then settled her head on her pillow.

Elizabeth stared at the ceiling. "Jack?"

"Hmm mmm." Jack murmured but he had already returned to reading his book.

"Does your mother like me?"

"Sure. What's not to like."

"How does she describe me?"

"You mean like your looks? Cuz she thinks you have pretty hair."

"I mean as a person."

Jack turned a page and continued reading as he answered casually. "She thinks you're kind of naïve."

"Naïve?!"

"Well, yeah" Jack replied. He looked at Elizabeth, who was now incredulously staring at him.

"I'm a school teacher!"

"i know, but you come from a small town and haven't seen much of the world."

"What did you tell her?"

"That I like that you're from a small town and if you want to see more of the world, I'll take you and we'll see it together."

"Jack?"

"Hmm mmm", Jack replied as he once again had returned his attention to the murder mystery book he was reading.

"Do I usually do whatever you ask me to do?"

"Pretty much. Why? Did you forget to do something?"

"No. Just wondering."

"Do you do everything I ask?" Elizabeth looked at Jack, whose eyes were scanning the page in front of him.

"Pretty much. Except for that stupid suggestion about Jacklyn's name change."

"Forget I even mentioned that."

"Yeah, then pretty much everything you ask. Is that okay with you?"

"That depends."

"On what?" Jack, his curiosity piqued, set down the book and looked at Elizabeth, who had a mischievous look in her eyes.

"I'm about to ask you to very quietly do your part."

"My part?"

"Shhh. You'll figure it out," Elizabeth replied quietly as she moved closer to her husband.

 **Up next: Chapter 69**


	69. Chapter 69 - Wedding Rings

**CHAPTER 69 – WEDDING RINGS**

All was right in the world. At least according to Jack's mental review as he sat at the Café's small table by the window. The late afternoon sun, which was streaming through the glass pane to lay on the checkered tablecloth, added a warm feeling to the already pleasant room.

Jack looked around the cozy eating room and then turned his gaze outside where a slight breeze was blowing. Nothing too harsh to cause the dangerous downing of trees or blowing off of roofs, but enough to cause women to clip their laundry on their lines with an extra laundry pin.

He saw a few birds on the Cafe's front porch pecking at crumbs that likely had been dropped from a cookie or slice of banana bread. Or maybe brushed off a worker's coat as he made his way from breakfast to the lumber mill, or the railroad tracks, or to the single mining site that was still open. Townspeople walked along the street carrying parcels from the mercantile or purchases from one of the other few stores that operated in Hope Valley.

Nothing was amiss. It had been a beautiful day so far.

Jack, grateful for his good fortune in life, once again took inventory. Most important in his life, Elizabeth was finding it surprisingly easy to manage her three roles as teacher, loving wife, and new mother. There had been a few hiccups at first, but once she had gotten into a routine and had managed to get some much-needed rest, things had been going smoothly. He had to marvel at her teaching skills and her knack for figuring out the best way to get her point across. She had the ability to make anyone learn anything.

The building of the new family home high on a hill overlooking the valley was also coming along well.

His mother-in-law had finally gone home after two weeks of visiting the family and had conceded, somewhat begrudgingly but still had conceded, that the Thornton family of three was happy and that Jack was a good provider.

Finally, Jack was grateful that the unscrupulous men who weeks earlier had ransacked his home and terrorized his wife and child were now in prison In Edmonton.

Yes. All was right in the world.

Except something wasn't.

Something wasn't right in Hope Valley and Jack had the nagging feeling that it had something to do with him.

He just didn't have any idea what it was.

He set down his late-afternoon cup of tea, leaned his back against the wooden chair spindles, and went over the possible reasons for the pesky feeling that was interrupting his day. He had done his rounds. His horse was back at the livery. He had remembered to mail out the monthly reports to Mountie headquarters. He had sent a telegram to his father regarding the family business. Elizabeth was safely at school with Jacklyn Elizabeth Thornton, who was the happiest, healthiest, and most adorable baby he had ever seen.

But something still seemed wrong. Jack just couldn't put his finger on it.

And that should have been his first clue.

He picked up his tea cup, holding the warm vessel with both hands, and tried to shake the feeling that he had overlooked something. Finally, he decided maybe he had forgotten to pay the boarding fees for the Thornton's cow and their young filly, Bibliophile.

 _No, I did that. At the beginning of the week._

"Problem in the marriage?" Tim Smyth asked when he sat down at the table across from Jack. The middle-age Pinkerton detective had a platonic fondness for Elizabeth ever since he had bid on her cake at a charity cake auction and she had made him a quilt from his late wife's gowns. The man's fondness for Elizabeth had, by extension, turned into a fondness for Jack and the couple's relationship.

"No, of course not," Jack said with a smile. "Why do you ask?"

"You're not wearing your wedding ring." Tim nodded towards Jack's bare hand.

Jack's head jerked to look at his left hand with eyes wide in alarm.

 _Damn. That's what's off._

* * *

Two hours later, Jack had retraced much of his day's activity, but it was impossible to repeat the exact footsteps of his morning rounds. And he doubted that he had lost the ring at home. He was pretty sure that if he had, Elizabeth would have found it and hurried to the Mountie office to place it back on his finger. And if he wasn't in the Mountie office, she would have found a way to track him down.

In the year and a half of their marriage, the ring had never left his finger. Not since the moment Elizabeth had placed it there one early evening in a park with a lake, a judge, a fiddler, and the judge's family as witnesses.

And now it was lost.

* * *

Jack, knowing that Elizabeth could be overly sentimental about some things - especially anything that had to do with him, approached the front door of the rowhouse with some trepidation.

 _It's just a ring. A piece of jewelry._ _A boring simple piece of jewelry._

But even as he tried to tell himself that it was just a piece of jewelry, he knew it wasn't.

Elizabeth didn't have a lot of jewelry – a silver locket from Tiffany and Co. which he had given her, her engagement ring, an expensive matching set of diamonds and grey sapphire earrings and a necklace which had been in his family for years, and her wedding ring were her most valuable pieces. Of all of them, the wedding ring – which was monetarily worth far less than the family heirlooms or even the engagement ring, was the most valuable to Elizabeth.

 _She probably won't even notice it's missing. She's so busy with the baby and work. I'll keep my left hand out of her view._

 _I'll look upstairs without telling her that I lost it. There's no reason to upset her. Maybe it's in the bed. Or . . . or . . .somewhere._

* * *

"Hi, Jack. We're in the kitchen," Elizabeth called out when she heard the front door open. Two seconds later, she walked into the front room, carrying their small daughter in her arms. Jack finished hanging his jacket on the wall hook before turning to face her.

"You look stressed. Is everything okay with work?" she asked as she gave him a quick kiss.

"Um. Yeah. Everything's fine. No stress. I'm just glad to see you and this little thing."

Elizabeth juggled the baby in her arms and then held the infant out to Jack. "Can you take her? I've got to finish up with dinner. I'm making your favorite. Rabbit stew. And I made an apple pie."

It was when Jack held out his arms for the baby that Elizabeth noticed the glaring absence of the thin gold band which had been around the fourth finger of his left hand for more than a year.

She stared at him wide eyed. "Where's you ring?!"

Jack grimaced. "I lost it. I've looked everywhere," he added hurriedly.

"Lost it? What do you mean lost it? Where is it?! ", she asked urgently as she held onto the baby and stared at his bare finger as if it was damaged. He suspected that she would have been less upset if the finger had been cut off or crushed in machinery.

"Calm down," he said gently. "I noticed it missing when I was having afternoon tea."

"When was the last time you saw it?"

"I'm not sure."

"You're NOT sure?! What do you mean you're not sure?! Were you wearing it when you did rounds? At the office? At the livery? In town?"

* * *

"It's not here," Elizabeth whined as she crawled out from under the couple's double bed and knocked a dust-ball off her arm.

Jack pushed back the dresser and turned to face Elizabeth. "I'm sorry. We've looked everywhere."

"And you sure you checked the livery? It could have fallen in a pile of hay and you missed it."

"Elizabeth, I checked the livery, and the mercantile, my office, and the Café. I can't possibly retrace my rounds through the woods. I may have lost it when I took off my gloves at the creek. And it was getting too dark to go up to the homesite to check. I had stopped by there briefly earlier today. I'm afraid it's hopeless," he said with a sigh.

"Oh, Jack," Elizabeth moaned sadly. "It's your wedding ring."

"It's just a ring," he remarked, trying to sound upbeat.

"It's not just a ring!" she declared with a gob-stopped look on her face. "It's a symbol of our love. We never take them off."

"I can get another one. I –

"Another one?" She continued with her shocked look. "You can't simply replace it!"

"Why not?"

"It's our wedding ring! Are you going to get another wife that easily? You lose the ring, you just replace it? You lose a wife, you just replace her?"

"Now you're just being silly," he said with raised eyebrows. "I am not going to lose you and I'm not going to replace you. . . . at least not that easily. It may take me a few days to find someone to take your place."

He looked at Elizabeth who now had her arms crossed against her chest as she glared at him for his teasing.

"You're right. You are not replaceable. But then again, you are not a ring made of gold. Although, like gold, you are soft and malleable when warmed up," he said with a smile. "In fact, I would like to warm you up right now and feel just how soft and malleable you are", he said in a provocative voice as he approached her.

"Hands off," she grumbled as she got up off the floor and brushed off more dust.

"Come on, Elizabeth. I'm sorry about the ring. I'll order another one from a catalogue tomorrow at the mercantile. I'll telegram in the order. It will be here in two weeks. Or I'll telegram Tom and have him pick up one for me. He can put it in the mail.

"You will not order another one from a catalogue or have Tom buy one. You'll have to get one made when you're in Landsdown Falls this week."

"Fine. Can I kiss you now?"

"Yes, but . . .", she hesitated.

"But what?"

"To be honest Jack, I feel like I'm cheating on you. Like I'm with a man who's not my husband because he's not wearing our wedding ring. It's just strange."

"Elizabeth, my ring is not important."

"Not important?" she said quietly as she looked at his hand and then stared at her own wedding ring.

"Not important", Jack reiterated. "It's just a piece of metal from a jewelry store."

"Is that how your really feel?"

"Yeah. I mean, think about. It's just something we bought one day without a lot of thought or planning," Jack remarked. He hadn't meant to sound so flippant but it was true that they hadn't spend much time making the purchase due to their sudden elopement.

Elizabeth gave Jack an odd look at his comment but she didn't argue with him anymore.

* * *

Jack realized that he had been worried for no reason.

Once Elizabeth got over her initial shock of the loss, and realized that the ring was likely gone forever to the depths of the woods surrounding Coal Valley, or perhaps lost in the creek where Jack stopped to allow his horse to drink, or lying in the deep grass of a field where he had helped a rancher replace a fence, she had handled the loss fairly well **.**

Jack held his daughter against his warm chest and gently rubbed her back as he walked back and forth across the parlor. While he had been entertaining the baby, Elizabeth had given up looking for the ring and had instead concentrated on grading school papers and folding freshly laundered cloth diapers.

 _I don't know what I was so worried about._

 _We don't even need to wear rings every day just because we're married._

 _Honestly, they're just an old-fashioned custom._

 _She handled it really well._

* * *

"She didn't make a peep when I put her down," Jack remarked an hour later as he came into the bedroom after putting Little Jack in her own bedroom, a routine which the entire family was still trying to get used to. The mattress sank in as he sat down on the edge of the bed and took off his socks. He watched as Elizabeth took off her wedding ring and put in on his dresser.

"She's adorable. Let's hope she'll sleep for at least four hours," Elizabeth replied as she slipped out of her skirt and went to the closet to hang it up.

"What are you doing?" he asked in surprise.

"Getting ready for bed."

"You took off your ring", he said in a confused and somewhat accusatory voice. "You never take off your ring."

"I can't wear it now. You need to take it to jewelers. I put it by your wallet so you'll remember to take it with you when you leave town tomorrow."

"Why do I need to take your ring?"

Elizabeth turned and looked at him in surprise. "Because you lost yours."

"I know I lost _mine._ I'm wondering why I need _yours_ in order to get a new one for me."

"For the gold."

"For the gold?" Jack's eyebrows crinkled inquisitively. He had no idea what was going through his wife's mind.

"To make your new ring", she explained as she took off her blouse and moved about the bedroom in her camisole and knickers.

"What are you talking about?"

"You need my ring to make yours."

* * *

Five minutes later, Jack shook his head in bewilderment at Elizabeth's country-way of looking at things but he had agreed to follow her directions with regard to making his new ring. She, on the other hand, shook her head in bewilderment about how her rich society husband could be so clueless about the basics of wedding rings.

As Elizabeth had explained it to Jack, a new ring for him would lack sentimental value. The only way to ensure that Jack's new wedding ring carried the sentimentality of the wedding day was for it to actually contain some gold from their wedding day. And the only way to accomplish that would be to melt down her ring, mix in more gold, and then make two new rings; one for each of them. This way, both of them would be wearing rings which contained gold from their wedding ceremony.

"You're not mad, are you? That I lost it?" Jack asked as he watched her standing in front of the mirror. _She's so sexy and she doesn't even realize it_.

"No. It's a bit of a bother and it will feel strange for me not to wear my ring for a week or so, but its fine. . . . . I hope men don't try to court me," she added casually as she looked at her reflection.

"Why in the world would they try to court you?" a confused Jack asked.

"Because I'm not wearing a wedding ring," Elizabeth replied as if the answer was obvious.

Jack chuckled. "They still know you're married."

"Maybe not. Nobody was at our wedding because we eloped. And only a few people from town were at the reception we had months later in Hamilton."

"We live together," Jack reminded her with a humorous look as he took off his shirt and threw it into the laundry basket in the corner of the room. He took his night shirt from under the pillow and pulled it over his head.

"Hmm. That might be a bit scandalous." Elizabeth paused for a moment with her hairbrush in her hand as she pondered living with Jack. "Well, I don't plan on moving out."

"I certainly hope not", Jack noted with a snicker. _Where does she come up with this stuff?!_

"But, still, with you out of town so often, eligible men might think I'm single and that you just visit me frequently."

"Don't be stupid," he said with a chortle at her seriousness. "They know we're married."

"How? How would they know if we're not wearing rings?"

"We have a child."

"Marci Sendersinger in Aberdeen had a baby and she wasn't married. It was quite scandalous."

"You are not Marci Sendersinger." Jack retorted before taking off his pants and crawling into bed.

"Well obviously I'm not. She lives in Aberdeen and has a little boy. But men might assume that I've had a baby out of wedlock if I'm not wearing a ring."

"No one is going to think that you had Jacklyn out of wedlock."

"They might. Perhaps I was in love with a Mountie who broke my heart and left me pregnant when he went to fight up North. Never to return", she said dramatically as she flung her hair over her shoulder. "Alone to fend for myself in this small isolated town in a valley with a baby named after my lover."

"Dear Lord", Jack said with a shake of his head and a sigh _. I've gone from dutiful husband to a missing lover. All because I lost my ring._

Elizabeth continued to brush her hair as she looked in the mirror. **"** Poor Jacklyn," she said with a sigh.

"Poor Jacklyn?"

"So young to already have her reputation ruined by being born out of wedlock."

"She is not born out of wedlock. We have a marriage license, and a birth certificate", Jack said sternly.

"Some of my suitors may not be able to read."

"Too bad they didn't have you for a teacher", Jack said sarcastically under his breath.

"Did you say something?"

"Nope," Jack replied quickly. He lay down and waited for Elizabeth to join him in bed.

"Because even if they can read, they certainly won't be asking for government-issued certificates before they bring me flowers and ask to court me."

"You are not going to have suitors. For God's sakes. I'll be back in five days with rings for both of us. And besides, you have my last name," Jack reminded her.

"So?"

"So my name is on my office. People in town have heard of Officer Thornton. I am the town's Mountie. I think that even these mysterious illiterate suitors of yours will be able to make the connection between us both having the same last name."

"If I introduce myself as Elizabeth Thornton. They might think that I'm your sister or cousin or something."

"My sister or cousin?" he said skeptically.

"It's possible. We do sort of have a family resemblance."

"We look nothing alike."

"We're almost the same height. Especially if I'm wearing heels."

"I can't believe we having this conversation," Jack muttered.

"It's important to discuss these things Jack. If I'm suddenly going to have to fend off suitors, you should know why."

Jack looked at Elizabeth and shook his head in bewilderment. "You are not going to have to _fend_ off suitors. No one is going to think that you are my sister or cousin."

"They might. . . . We should probably refrain from kissing in public."

A stunned Jack sat upright in bed. "What?!"

"It would be odd for siblings or cousins to be kissing."

"We are not siblings for cousins!"

"I certainly don't want to be thought of kissing cousins. Or Jacklyn to be thought of as the product of some type of inbreeding. Yuck. That's worse than being born out of wedlock."

"We are not siblings or cousins! You are my wife! I am going to kiss you whenever I want. For God sakes, it took me long enough to kiss you the first time."

Elizabeth shrugged as she set down her hairbrush. "Okay, but don't blame me if you get some odd looks from people who think you're kissing a harlot or a relative."

"This is ridiculous."

"We're not going to be wearing wedding rings. How are we to know what people will think?"

"Everyone in town knows we're married!"

"There have been so many new people moving into town with the railroad and lumber business," Elizabeth noted innocently.

She opened a jar of face cream and began gently rubbing some into her skin as she looked in the mirror. "I do have a nice color to my cheeks", she remarked as she appreciated her complexion. "Men like color in a girl's cheeks."

"No one is going to ask you on a date," Jack said sternly as he tried to push aside the irrational jealous feeling that was creeping into him.

"Don't you think I'm attractive enough?" Elizabeth called out pleasantly over her shoulder as she continued to admire her reflection in the mirror.

"Of course, you're attractive enough. That's not the point."

 _We always have sex the night before I go out of town. Why am I getting the feeling that sex is off the table tonight?_ Jack thought with a frown.

"My hair's been so thick lately. I love it. Hmmm. I suppose men will be attracted to it. It's only natural that they would. Perhaps I should wear it up. So, it's not too tempting to all the eligible men." Elizabeth piled her hair on the top of her head in a loose pile.

"What do you think?" she asked as she turned to face Jack with one hand on her head so the hair wouldn't fall down.

"There are no eligible men for you. You are TAKEN!"

"But they won't know that," Elizabeth noted as she dropped her hair back down and looked in the mirror one final time. "Because we won't be wearing rings."

"You will have a baby with you and you are far too proper to be a woman who had a child out of wedlock so they will know you're married," Jack said dryly as he now rethought his decision not to retrace his rounds to search for his wedding band.

"Perhaps people will think I'm a widow," she offered pensively after a moment as she dabbed a drop of Jack's favorite perfume on her cleavage. "And that's why I no longer wear a ring."

"For Pete's sake, you are not single. You are not a widow. You are happily married to me."

"Of course, I am, dear. But not everyone else in the whole world knows that. What about if I go to one of the settlements? There are so many new single lonely men moving there."

Elizabeth moved over to the closet and pulled out some of her garments. Holding them up and examining them. And then speaking quietly and making odd hand gestures.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to decide what to wear tomorrow."

"Why are you talking to yourself?" Jack inquired suspiciously.

"I'm practicing what to say."

"What to say?"

"When I get asked to go courting. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings when I reject them. Men can be so sensitive."

"You're killing me at this point", Jack muttered, but Elizabeth ignored him.

"Now that I think about it, it's been awhile since I went to the settlement. A widower with his own young children would find me to be quite the catch."

"Why don't you just avoid the settlement while I'm gone?" Jack suggested dryly, and wondered if it was too late to get an annulment on the grounds of insanity. _Probably_.

"Perhaps that's for the best," Elizabeth agreed as she crawled into bed. "Those poor settlers. They have it hard enough without having to find out that the woman they think is a rich available widow is still married."

Jack slapped his hand on his forehead and kept it there as if he had a headache. He wondered how it was he managed to fall so hopelessly in love with her. It took him a moment to speak.

"So let me get this straight. You're not mad at me for losing the ring, but you feel odd making love to me if I'm not wearing a wedding ring. And you don't think we should kiss in public because people might think we're creepy kissing cousins or siblings. And you're worried that our beautiful perfect little girl will be considered a bastard child because we're not wearing wedding rings."

"And people might think we're living in sin or I'm a harlot who lets you visit overnight when you're in town," Elizabeth added casually as she fluffed her pillow. "But don't worry about it. I can handle the stares and gossip."

"That's good," he remarked dryly.

"If Hester Prynne can handle it, I can handle it. Of course, she had to wear a scarlet letter."

"Hester Prynne!" Jack's voice echoed. "From _The Scarlet Letter_?! You're comparing our situation to _The Scarlet Lett_ er?!"

"She had a little baby girl too. Just about the same age as little Jacklyn. Such a sad book," Elizabeth said with a wistful shake of her head.

"Good night, Jack. I love you," Elizabeth said pleasantly as she turned down the kerosene light and then reached over and gave her now speechless husband a quick kiss.

 _This is ridiculous! How does she come up with this nonsense?!_

Jack lay in the dark with images floating through his mind. Images of Elizabeth surrounded by men who wanted to court her. Widowers offering to carry her books home from school. Railroad workers offering to chop wood for the stove. Lumberjacks trying to kiss her. Images of his little girl being talked about in whispered voices. Questions as to whether she was the product of an illicit affair.

He let out a deep sigh of defeat and sat up in bed. His hand went to the kerosene lamp on his nightstand and he turned the knob raising the flame and casting a glow across the bed.

"What are you doing?" Elizabeth turned to look at him.

"I'm either going to take a lantern and retrace my rounds in the woods and find the ring – which should take about ten hours, or I'm going to find something sentimental from our wedding – like your dress - to make two matching rings for us. You choose."

"I thought that you said that wedding rings weren't important," Elizabeth bit her bottom lip to hide her smile.

"Apparently, I hadn't thought it through very well."

* * *

"I'll miss you," a sleepy Elizabeth said as Jack slid out of the bed the next morning.

"That's the point. You're supposed to miss me", a naked Jack said with a grin as he picked up his night shirt from the floor where Elizabeth had dropped it hours earlier.

It turned out that he hadn't needed to retrace his rounds in the woods or make a matching set of wedding rings. In fact, as Elizabeth had explained to him last night as he had sat on the edge of the mattress and she had begun kissing his neck and running her hands along his body, all he needed to do was admit that their wedding rings were important.

"And no letting any settlers, railroad workers, lumber mill workers, or clueless illiterate widowers try to court you," he reminded her as he pulled on a pair of pants. "I'll be back within the week. I'd prefer not to have been replaced."

"I promise", she giggled.

Never in a million years did Jack or Elizabeth think he'd actually be replaced in a week. And he wasn't.

It was more like a day.

 **Up Next: The Replacement.**

 **Dear Readers, I've been busy writing "Out of this World" but I could never forget about this crazy couple. :)**

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	70. Chapter 70 -The Replacements Part 1

**CHAPTER 70 – The REPLACEMENTS**

 **Part 1**

Anyone who was awake enough to venture outside would be preoccupied with early morning chores rather than watching the couple standing in an embrace on the wide wooden porch.

A breeze blew a stray piece of paper past the rowhouse causing a small kitten to leap down from a step and chase after the litter, but the two intertwined bodies by the front door didn't notice.

The birds chirping a morning song concealed the sounds of the man and woman on the porch. The soft murmurs. The whispered words.

Her sad sigh as the man took his lips off of hers.

The feel of his lips on her was replaced with the flesh of his hand as Jack moved his palm along Elizabeth's cheek.

It was obvious he loved her.

He caressed her face with a mixture of ownership and worship. Love and worry. Joy at being with her. Sorrow at leaving her.

In a few minutes, they would separate for her to spend the day in the company of students and for him to be alone with nature. With textbooks in a schoolhouse for her, and with a horse traveling through fields and forests for him. With household chores and caring for a little one. With eating by a campfire and drinking from a canteen.

But for this moment, it was just the two of them.

"If you need anything, ask someone in town for help," he reminded her.

"I will be fine," Elizabeth said emphatically. "You just take care of yourself."

"When I come back, I'll bring your wedding ring," he said as he lifted her hand and kissed her ring finger. "And one for me too."

* * *

Ten hours after kissing Jack goodbye, Elizabeth still couldn't get used to the gold wedding band missing from her finger. The only other time it had been gone was when three thieves had stolen it. And Jack had been wonderful enough to put it back on her finger mere hours later after hauling the men off to jail.

And now, her ring was gone again. At least this time it was in Jack's possession. Elizabeth hadn't totally given up on finding Jack's ring which had he had lost yesterday, but she had nonetheless realized the unlikelihood of it ever being found. And so, she had given him her ring to have melted down and added with more gold to form two new rings. One for each of them, using some of the gold from their wedding day.

Although Elizabeth had teased Jack about men trying to court her while she wasn't wearing a wedding band, she actually thought it couldn't be farther from the truth.

Not only was she still wearing her engagement ring, but Elizabeth found it almost impossible to imagine that any man would be attracted to a tired working mom who was still slightly plump months after giving birth, and was usually either carrying a baby in her arms while also pushing a pram full of books, or was carrying books in her arms while also pushing a pram full of baby.

 _Now that I think about it . .. she is the only appealing thing about me . . .that and my full breasts,_ Elizabeth thought with a self-deprecating smile.

For the first time in months she was actually alone as she walked down the main street of Hope Valley. No books. No husband. No baby. No mother visiting from out of town.

Jack had been gone for 10 hours, and Elizabeth had filled every one of the 600 minutes with teaching, grading papers, changing diapers, walking the baby, burping the baby, feeding the baby, singing to the baby, remembering to feed the dog and cat, putting wood in the stove, and now going quickly to the store for some shopping.

Thankfully, Abigail had agreed to watch baby Jacklyn for thirty minutes while Elizabeth had picked up some laundry soap at the mercantile. Although, Mrs. Miller washed much of the Thornton's laundry, Elizabeth still had to wash at least twelve cloth diapers a day which resulted in her quickly going through laundry soap almost as quickly as the baby managed to go through her diapers.

Elizabeth gave a little skip as she walked down the street, breathing in the fresh crisp air. Washing the diapers would take less than twenty minutes but she could probably drag it out to thirty. And if she hung them in the warm kitchen, they would dry tonight and then she could fold them. That would take another minute or two. Between the diapers, her other chores, school work, and maybe reading a chapter or two of a novel, she should be tired enough by bedtime. That was her goal. To be tired so she fell asleep quickly.

Elizabeth had actually been grateful to be so busy; it kept her mind off the fact that the house would be eerily empty without Jack tonight. She had been so confident this morning when Jack left. Confident that she could spend the nights alone. But as the hours past, she began to dread the nighttime.

It had been a few weeks since she had been attacked in her own home. The men hadn't physically hurt her – other than a slap to the face, some hair pulling, and rough shoving. But they had left her feeling tense and on alert at times when she was alone with the baby. When Jack was outside chopping wood. Or her mother had been in the outhouse. Or when she had woken up from a nap and sensed the quiet in the house, not hearing Grace and Jack downstairs in the kitchen with baby. Sometimes when she was alone in the quiet, she remembered that day.

Elizabeth thought back to the conversation she had had with Jack earlier this morning over warm oatmeal with a drizzle of honey on top. After a night of discussing his missing wedding band, making love, and then falling asleep in each other arms, Elizabeth was secure in her belief that she could handle being alone. And even though at breakfast, Jack had changed his mind three times about leaving town, Elizabeth had remained steadfast that she could handle staying by herself for the first time since the robbery.

"I want you to stay at Abigail's. I would feel better," Jack had declared as he set down his spoon.

"I will be just fine. Your daughter and I are not delicate little women in need of protection."

"Technically she _is_ a delicate little woman", Jack had quickly reminded Elizabeth. "She weighs fifteen pounds, and can do absolutely nothing for herself. Unless you count holding up her head."

"She can roll from her tummy to her back", Elizabeth had remarked pleasantly as she lovingly kissed the small baby's head.

"And she does it beautifully," Jack had conceded. "But the next milestone is going to be rolling from her back to her tummy, not fighting off assailants and protecting the home."

Elizabeth had rolled her eyes. "Thatcher women are strong. And we are not anticipating any more _assailants_."

"First of all, you're Thornton women, not Thatcher women. Second, you and she are not that strong -"

"Am too," Elizabeth iterjected.

"Are not. And third of all, the interesting thing about assailants is that they generally don't write to let you know to anticipate them," Jack remarked pointedly.

Elizabeth had raised her eyebrows at Jack and gave him a sideways glance as she handed him the baby so she could get him some more coffee.

"How about having Clara stay with you?" he suggested.

"No. We are fine! I am not going to inconvenience her or anyone else. Besides, if I know you, you already asked half the town to keep an eye on us."

"Close. I asked Clint, Bill, and Tim to all keep an eye on you. Unfortunately, Clint is sick and Bill has to go to Union City, but Tim said he'd watch out for you."

"Isn't he going to be busy with helping keep order in town?"

"He's got time for you. If you need anything, or get frightened, you just contact him. If you feel you need a man around the house, just ask him."

"I will, I promise."

"I don't want you going to visit the cow or horse by yourself."

"I won't. What about the pigeons? I need to get up there if you're going to send me a message."

"Take someone with you," Jack had said as he held out his coffee cup for her to refill.

"Am I allowed to walk to school or is that forbidden too?" she had asked sarcastically.

"Elizabeth," he had said warningly at her attitude. "I am trying to keep you safe."

"Yes. Yes. I know. I promise to stay safe."

"Keep the doors locked."

"I will. I promise."

"Put the bar across it too."

"I will."

"Make sure the windows are all locked, and close the shutters on the downstairs windows at night."

"I will."

"Don't open the door for any strangers."

"Really Jack. Do you honestly think I would just simply open the door for a stranger if I've gone to all the trouble of locking it and barring it?" she had asked with a sigh.

Jack had ignored her tired sarcasm. "Keep the pistol handy but be careful with it."

"I hate guns, but I will keep the pistol handy. And I am always careful with it. My father didn't raise an idiot."

"I know. I just worry."

"Well stop it. You'll give yourself an ulcer," she had admonished. She had picked up Jack's empty bowl with one hand, and juggled her bowl, the empty toast rack, and a napkin in the other as she made her way to the sink. "I've finally got my cooking good enough that you won't get an ulcer from it. I'm not about to have you get an ulcer from worrying."

* * *

All Jack's worrying had made Elizabeth even more nervous, but she was determined to not give in to fear.

She hadn't been exaggerating when she had remarked to Jack last evening about the large number of new men coming into town. With the warmer weather approaching, more work could begin in the lumber mill, the farms, and the railroad. And with more workers coming to town, traveling salesmen came to Hope Valley to offer their goods to new clientele. The Saloon was overflowing with guests and even old lady Wallis, who lived in one of the row houses closest to town, had taken in boarders, filling her two empty bedrooms.

As she made her way back to Abigail's Café, Elizabeth moved away from the crowded sidewalks and walked down the street, sidestepping manure left by horses and ruts left by wagons. The sounds of music and loud talking floated out of the Saloon despite the late afternoon hour. Her shawl slipped from her shoulders and anyone knowing she was a new mother could guess from her figure that it was almost time to feed her baby.

Elizabeth watched as Tim Smythe, the local Pinkerton detective, hauled two men out of the Saloon's open door. He had one hand on the shirt collar of each man as he dragged them off the sidewalk on his way towards the jail.

The loud whistle caught Elizabeth's attention.

"Watch yourself," Tim ordered the man dressed in a dusty plaid shirt who had suggestively whistled at Elizabeth and had now stopped to stare at her.

"Keep moving," Tim now demanded as he pushed the man slightly. But it was the other man being taken to the jail that caught Elizabeth's attention.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes," the blond-haired man said in a country drawl as he too stopped and looked at her appraisingly.

He was easily six-foot four inches in height, with muscles that stretched the sleeves of his blue cotton shirt. With his size, he could have easily escaped the middle-aged detective's grasp, but he had obediently chosen to allow himself to be arrested. Perhaps realizing that there would be a bed for the night for him.

He gave Elizabeth a big smile and tilted back his cowboy hat revealing more of his friendly face. "How about a hug?"

Tim pushed the man sharply in the back but not before Elizabeth's eyes got wide in surprise.

"Sorry for their rudeness," Tim said to Elizabeth. "I'm just hauling them off to the jail. Jack left me the key in case there was any trouble."

"What'd this one do?" Elizabeth gestured humorously to the blond man who continued to look at her as if assessing her and pleased with what he saw.

"Got in a slight brawl with this other one over a game of poker. Been in town only two hours," Tim replied.

"Did he cause any damage?"

"Nah. And he won't now that he'll be spending the night locked up."

"Are you drunk?" Elizabeth asked as she looked at handsome man who couldn't stop smiling at her. She noticed that he had a large rip in his pants over the left thigh.

"No, ma'am" he said with a big grin. He took off his hat and bowed to her in an exaggerated manner. "Not in the least bit. I only had time for one drink before this stupid guy tried to cheat me in a game of Dirty Schultz."

"How'd you get the rip in your pants?"

"Barbed wire. A few days back. Sure could use a seamstress of repair it," he said hopefully.

"Are you sick? Cold? Fever? Cough?" she questioned him much to the confusion of Tim, whose only goal was to get the men into the jail.

"I'm fit as a fiddle."

"I've got a baby at home and can't have any germs around," Elizabeth replied in a stern manner.

"I swear on my mother, I'm as healthy as they come," he replied eagerly. "And I'd love to see your baby."

Elizabeth smiled. "Tim, I'll take this one home with me if you don't mind. With Jack out of town, I could use a man around the house."

The detective gave her a startled look and wondered if his hearing had gone bad.

"Don't worry. I can handle him. And Clint's too sick to have him stay with him."

"Now, Elizabeth Thatcher. I wouldn't be so sure about you being able to handle me. It's been years since you've seen me", the blond man said with a knowing smile as he addressed her. "I've grown up considerably."

"Jeb Blackthorn, I could handle you years ago, and I can handle you now. And it's Elizabeth _Thornton_. I'm a married woman now," she said proudly.

"I heard. But I don't see a ring on that pretty little finger of yours. At least not a wedding ring," the man remarked as he glanced at her hand.

"You just come along with me," she instructed as she took him by the arm with a smile. "You can tell me all about the gossip from home. My mother was just in town but I'm sure there's your side of things."

* * *

Jeb Blackthorn was just two years younger than his brother Clint, who had been Elizabeth's childhood sweetheart and was now a close - but entirely platonic - friend to her. Jeb was without a doubt one of the most attractive men that Elizabeth had ever seen. She noticed quite a few female heads turning when they walked to the row house. And when he had picked her up in a hug, she had to admit that she was astonished by just how much he had grown.

It was his strong arms that Elizabeth was most interested in at this point. His strong arms and her stack of firewood. She planned on going through quite a few logs while Jack was gone for the week and she didn't want him coming home and immediately having to set about chores. And Jeb would be nice protection.

"So you just want to use me as slave labor?" Jeb questioned with his smile as Elizabeth handed him an ax.

"That, and the company."

"You okay?" Jeb asked seriously. The first serious tone that he had taken since they had met in the street. "I heard about what happened. With the thieves."

"I'm fine. I think. Let's just say, I would be grateful to have you stay here. And you can't stay with Clint because he's took sick. And the saloon's full up with workers. You'd actually be doing me a favor."

"Say no more. I'll stay."

"Thank you. I'll make up the couch for you."

"You sure that husband of yours won't mind?"

Elizabeth laughed. "He didn't take too well to Clint when they first met, but I think he'll be okay with you. Especially when I explain that you were always like a little brother to me. Now, you start chopping, and I'll get dinner going."

* * *

"Jeb, would you mind terribly walking me to school?" Elizabeth asked the following morning. She spoke over her shoulder at her childhood friend who was sitting at her kitchen table in the seat usually occupied by Jack.

The man swallowed a forkful of eggs, juggled the baby on his lap, and looked at Elizabeth curiously.

"Jack normally walk you to school every day?" he questioned.

"No. Not every day," she readily admitted. "He's got his own job to get to."

Jeb shoved another forkful of the scrambled mixture of warm eggs and cream into his mouth before replying.

"What's up? Someone bothering you?"

'Nothing like that," Elizabeth responded hesitantly as she continued to stare out the small kitchen window. "Not yet. It's probably nothing. But yesterday, I noticed someone staring at me when I was in town. A man. I'd never seen him before. And now I seem to see him everywhere."

"Lots of new people in town. You said that yourself. Probably nothing", Jeb said dismissively as he set down his fork and picked up his mug which was filled with hot black coffee.

"Except he's outside the rowhouse. About fifty feet away", Elizabeth remarked worriedly.

"Fifty feet's a good distance. Got any more biscuits?"

"No. You eat like a horse," Elizabeth replied matter-of-factly. "And there'd be no reason for him to be here. All these houses are occupied by families."

"What's he doing?"

"Smoking a cigarette."

Elizabeth realized that it wasn't exactly nefarious behavior but she still frowned as she looked at the man. She had the distinct feeling that he was standing outside because of her.

"He could be visiting someone – one of your neighbors," Jeb suggested. "Like I'm visiting Clint and staying with you."

It was clear to Elizabeth that a brawny six-foot four-inch man sitting in her kitchen had little to worry about in the way of self-preservation. He hadn't worried about anyone bothering him since his growth spurt at age nineteen.

"Could be", Elizabeth admitted with a frown. She watched as the man outside pulled up the collar of his coat against the morning chill. "I think he's carrying a gun", she noted as she scrutinized his form and thought she saw a small bulge on his right side.

"I carry a gun. Most men with any gumption do."

"Yes, I suppose you're right. "

Jeb grasped his napkin from his collar and put it on the table. "No reason for me to walk you to school. Not that I'm lazy or nothing, but it's best to face things head-on and upfront. I'll handle it right now."

* * *

Elizabeth held Jacklyn on her hip, running her hand along the baby's fine hair, as she watched the two men through the window.

It was an odd encounter. The man, who appeared to be in his thirties and well-built, didn't shirk away from Jeb, but instead politely shook hands with him and pointed to the Thornton home, causing Elizabeth to hurriedly pull back from the window momentarily.

She peeked around the curtain and watched as the unknown man took some papers from his front coat pocket and showed them to Jeb, who seemed unimpressed. The man pulled out another document-handing it to Jeb for his examination, and then pulled out his wallet to show Jeb something else.

Elizabeth moved away from the window again when both men, now laughing, approached the row-house.

"Bethie, we got any eggs left for this man?" Jeb, feeling right at home, called out as the men walked through the front door. "Looks like you'll be feeding two hungry men this morning."

A gob-stopped Elizabeth stood there while the men took off their jackets and hung them on the wall-hooks which typically held Jack's hat and jacket.

* * *

"A bodyguard?! What in the world is a bodyguard?"

"I'm actually called a close protection officer," the man said as he took a bite of eggs. "Thanks ma'am. These are delicious. The Saloon and Café were both full. Couldn't even get a table."

Elizabeth had seen the man's badge identifying him as Archibald Conferense, his small file on her which included a newspaper clipping of the arrest of the three thieves, a telegram, and his letter of appointment from Mrs. Thornton -the older Mrs. Thornton. Elizabeth's mother-in-law.

"Like I explained, ma'am, your in-laws were most concerned with your well-being. Your husband had mentioned to his family that he'd be gone for a week, and your mother-in-law had been in telegraphic communication with your mother, who let her know she was no longer in town. And well, with your recent situation and being alone and your family wealth and status, it seemed prudent to have you protected."

"Good Lord, I'm not the queen of England!"

The man took a sip of hot coffee and gave Elizabeth an appreciative smile when she pushed a plate of toast across the table to him. "I expect you're a lot more hospitable."

"Does my husband, Jack, know about this?"

"No, ma'am. Your in-laws seemed to think he would want to tell you and that you'd refuse my services. It was determined that it was best not to let either of you know prior to my arrival."

Over some more eggs and toast, the bodyguard explained that he had arrived by train yesterday morning, walked around her home for hours last night in the dark, was desperately hoping to find an available room to sleep in during the day while Elizabeth was at school, and was cold and tired by the time Jeb had approached him.

* * *

After school that day, where the bodyguard had sat outside the schoolhouse, and Jeb had babysat Jacklyn at home, the baby's crib was moved into Jack and Elizabeth's bedroom. Jeb was assigned the small single bed in the baby's room, and Archibald was given the couch which Jeb had used last night for sleeping.

Elizabeth was initially intent on refusing Archibald's protection services, especially because she had Jeb with her, but she realized that she feared the wrath of Mrs. Thornton should the woman hear that she wasn't accepting the protection. Besides, there was no reason to deprive Archie, as she was now calling him, of his livelihood. She had been tempted to have him accept her in-laws payment and simply get on the next ride out of town, but Archie had said that it would be unethical to accept money without doing the work. And with Jeb there, Elizabeth felt comfortable enough having Archie sleep on the couch.

As Elizabeth settled down for the night, she wondered what Jack would think of the situation.

 _I've got a very large handsome well-build childhood friend sleeping in the next room, and an ethical man guarding my body._

 _This is a most unusual twist to Jack being out of town._

 _Oh, Jack. I do seem to get in a pickle when you're away sometimes._

 **Up next: Chapter 71. Part 2 of the Replacements. The Third Man**

 **Dear Readers: Did you recognize a line from a song?**


	71. Chapter 71 - The Replacement Part 2

**CHAPTER 71**

 **THE REPLACEMENTS PART 2 - THE THIRD MAN**

For the next two days, Elizabeth loved having company while Jack was out of town. It made Jack's absence more bearable. And although she still missed him terribly, she felt safe in their home.

Jeb, who was still avoiding his sick brother, took charge of the house and the baby, and ensured that both were always warm and cozy. His years as a rancher had included helping deliver and take care of newborn lambs, which made him a gentle caregiver in sharp contrast to his large size. And his large size made him the perfect person to chop wood, haul water, and repair the loose railing on the front porch.

While Jeb was often carrying Little Jack in his arms and wearing a burp cloth on his shoulder as he walked around town and the home, Archie the bodyguard, when he wasn't following Elizabeth around, could usually be found in the Thornton home carrying a wooden spoon and wearing an apron. It turned out that between a girlfriend in Quebec City, another one in Ottawa, and a third in Hamilton, he had learned a great deal about different styles of cooking and enjoyed practicing his culinary skills almost more than he enjoyed courting eligible women.

Elizabeth sat at her desk in the front parlor reviewing students' essays and inhaling the aroma of stew wafting over from the nearby kitchen stove.

The knock on the door caused her to look up from an essay on Canada's first prime minister.

"Stay seated, I'll get it", Archibald ordered in a professional voice. Elizabeth smirked at Archibald's sudden return to duty. He was quite the character with one of her aprons hiding the pistol in his holster as he moved across the room and opened the front door.

Elizabeth had never seen the man standing at her front door but she immediately recognized his name when she heard him introduce himself; she had seen it often enough on reports and formal letters.

Carleton Sebastian.

Superintendent of Schools for Hope Valley and eighteen other school districts in Canada.

 _Oh, dear. What is he doing here?!_ she thought in bewilderment.

* * *

"I'm so sorry," she apologized profusely after she had explained to the man that the schoolhouse did not have a suitable space for him to use for sleeping while he was in town to inspect the school district and her teaching practice.

 _A surprise inspection?! Of all times for a surprise inspection!_

"No teacherage? That is a shame. I'm only in town for a few days but the Saloon and boarding house were both full so I assumed I'd stay at the school house," the man replied. He sat awkwardly on the couch and politely pretended not to notice the blanket and pillow next to him even though it was obvious that someone had used the couch as a bed the prior night.

"My husband built the school for me when we were courting and he assumed he would marry me one day and so there was no reason for a separate room for sleeping."

 _Damn, why did I mention that? He'll think that even before we were married, Jack was thinking about sleeping with me one day_. _Like we had immoral thoughts going on all the time! . . . . It certainly wasn't ALL the time._

"We did build a small room at the back but it doesn't have a bed. The pastor uses it at times as an office, and it has my small library of books and supplies," she explained as hurriedly put a china cup with hot tea on the low table in front of him. "And I use it for other stuff."

"Other stuff?"

"Um, . . . .female stuff," she answered evasively as she thought about how she used the back room for breastfeeding Jacklyn when the students were at lunch and recess.

When the man looked at her oddly, Elizabeth became pink in the face and wished she had never said anything but it was too late to take it back.

The superintendent slowly sipped his tea and looked at her expectedly as he waited for her to further explain, but a flustered Elizabeth just stood there.

Jeb cleared his throat and nodded knowingly towards the baby and then towards Elizabeth, but the superintendent still didn't grasp the meaning of "female stuff", and Elizabeth could tell his imagination was starting to travel wildly as he moved his glance from her to Jeb to the baby.

From the way he was staring at the baby and then Elizabeth, it suddenly seemed clear that the superintendent had gathered that "female stuff" implied intercourse in the back room of the school.

"Breast feeding!" Elizabeth yelled out in haste.

"I . . . feed at the lunch hour in the back room. For privacy," she further mumbled in embarrassment.

"And neither of these men is your husband?" Carleton Sebastian asked curiously and somewhat in confusion as he looked at Jeb carrying Little Jack around the room and at Archie who had gone back to kitchen after a brief interrogation of the superintendent's identity and purpose for visiting.

"No. My husband's a Mountie."

"And you're actually married?" he asked with a slight embarrassed cough into his hand as he looked at the baby and noticed a lack of wedding band on Elizabeth's left ring finger.

"Of course I'm married! I have a baby and a home! And a husband!"

"And he lives here? Sometimes?" the man asked hesitantly.

He had found this situation somewhat unusual ever since one man had searched him for weapons and the other man- the large brawny fellow- had come downstairs wearing long johns and asking if the teacher had finished mending his breeches. And neither man apparently being Elizabeth's husband.

"Of course, he lives here sometimes. All the time. Just not now. I mean, he lives here when he's alive. I mean, he's always alive. Thankfully. He lives here when he's in town," she answered nervously. "And he's usually always in town. When he's not gone. Out of town."

 _I sound like an idiot! Why the heck do I have two men living with me when my husband's out of town?!_

Elizabeth was saved from further nervous embarrassment when Archie called dinner and they all sat down to a well-prepared meal after setting a place at the table for their newest guest.

* * *

"We're going to be doing a little skit next week. For science," Elizabeth explained as she discussed her school plan with the superintendent over roast beef and potatoes. Elizabeth had known that the administration sometimes held surprise inspections, and once she got over her initial nervousness, she found Carleton Sebastian to be a pleasant and interesting guest.

"I'd love to see a rehearsal."

"I'm afraid you can't. My husband's out of town."

"Your husband?"

"As I said, he's out of town for a few more days."

"Why does he have to be here for your skit," the confused school official asked.

"He's the sun and the moon and the stars," Elizabeth explained as she ate with her fork in one hand and her other hand holding Jacklyn who was sitting on her lap and attempting to smoosh her palm into the potatoes on Elizabeth's plate.

The superintendent gave Elizabeth a horrified look. "Dear Lord, you're married to one of your students?! My God, how young is he?" he asked as he continued to stare at her.

Elizbeth spewed bits of potatoes from her mouth in response. "NO! He's not one of my students! He's my husband. He's a Mountie. I told you!" she declared over the loud laughter of Jeb and Archie.

"He'll stand off to the side and pull them up by the pulleys," she explained quickly as she brushed potato from the baby's hair and wiped her napkin along the table while she tried to regain her composure.

Throwing a dirty look at Jeb and Archie, who were still laughing, she spoke as calmly as possible. "The students made them out of thin sheets of wood and paint and they'll be beautiful up high floating near the ceiling. With the students all performing, I wanted the parents to be able to sit and watch rather than help. Jack is a big help when it comes to the school."

"Jack?" the man questioned.

"My husband."

"Ahh", he replied with understanding. "That would be why your little girl is named Jacklyn."

"Yes," Elizabeth beamed. "Jack is a wonderful father. And husband. And help with my school."

"Your husband is the sun, and the moon, and the stars? Not your whole universe?" the superintendent teased good-naturedly now that he had been assured that the district's teacher was married to someone who was alive, and adult, and who sometimes resided with her.

Elizabeth chuckled. "Not my whole universe. The children are the planets. And the asteroids. And we also have the older children as Pythagoras, Aristotle, and Magellan.

* * *

It seemed silly to make the superintendent sleep outside on the front porch or in a barn or tent, especially with the night's drizzling rain. And with two men staying with her, it seemed simple enough to allow a third to do so. When Elizabeth learned that the man's luggage had been damaged in his travels and left him with a limited number of articles of clothing, she pulled some clothes from Jack's dresser drawer and offered them to him.

Jeb filled some sacks with straw for a make-shift mattress, and with the addition of sheets and a blanket, a somewhat proper bed was made for the visiting man from the Department of Education.

Before going to bed, Elizabeth stopped on the bottom step of the staircase and looked over her shoulder at the other occupants of the home.

Carleton was reading a book of Jack's he had found on the end table. Archie was using Jack's shoe kit to polish his shoes, and Jeb was adding wood to the stove to heat the house overnight.

"Goodnight, gentlemen", she called out.

"Night, Bethie"

"Night, ma'am"

"Night, Mrs. Thornton,"

As Elizabeth climbed the steps, she mentally went over her recent activities as she had each night that Jack had been gone. She had locked the doors, put the bar across the front door, locked all the windows, and closed the shutters on the downstairs windows.

Just like Jack had asked.

* * *

Before crawling into her bed, she kissed Jacklyn, who was sleeping peacefully in her crib – which Jeb had moved into Elizabeth's bedroom as if it weighed no more than a pillow, and then looked into her nightstand drawer where the pistol was carefully stored so it would be close to her should she need it.

It didn't even cross Elizabeth's mind that Jack might be surprised that after being gone only a few days, he now had three men now living in his home, eating his food, wearing his clothes, and tending to his family. She was too busy thinking about how pleased he would be with her.

A satisfied Elizabeth turned down the kerosene lamp and lay her head on her pillow. She liked thinking about Jack and how happy he would be when he came home and he found out that she had kept the house safe and followed his instructions.

 _I did everything I promised you that I would, Jack,_ she thought proudly to herself. _Doors, windows, shutters, pistol._

 _You'll be very pleased with me._

 _Why, you'll probably pull me into a kiss ! And then you'll tell me how proud you are of me that I can handle the home while you're gone. And how sexy you find me. And then. . . well, you know what you'll do then. . . ooh, yummy._

 **Up Next: Chapter 72. The Replacements Part 3**


	72. Chapter 72-The Replacement Pt 3-Original

**CHAPTER 72 – THE REPLACEMENTS PART 3**

 **THE ORIGINAL RETURNS**

During the week that Jack was gone, Elizabeth only had to reprimand her childhood friend Jeb once when it came to Little Jack and even though he had disagreed with her reasoning, Jeb finally agreed that he wouldn't bring the baby to any more poker games while Elizabeth was at school.

And she only rebuked Archie once about his bodyguard duties. As much as Elizabeth found Mrs. Denkenheim to be irritating when the woman criticized her teaching abilities, it really wasn't appropriate for the bodyguard to tell the woman to stop approaching Elizabeth and to remain six feet away at all times.

Elizabeth, not wishing to alarm her students, had tried to keep the nature of Archie's employment from them, but his constant presence, and the talk of the adults in town, had made the students well aware that the man was there for some sort of security.

 _This whole thing is so silly. I don't need a close protection officer. I think it was made abundantly clear after the past attempted theft that Jack and I have very little in the way of valuables. Just because Jack is gone, doesn't mean I need paid protection!_ Elizabeth thought with a shake of her head.

Regardless, as long as Jack was out of town, Archie insisted on performing the duties for which he had been paid by Elizabeth's in-laws, and so she let him stay and follow her around town.

 _Besides, he's a good cook_ , Elizabeth reasoned. _That stuffed chicken was delicious_. _Although, he does have the oddest names for dishes. I thought Aberdeen had odd names!_

Despite Elizabeth having a bodyguard, Jeb continued to stay because Clint was still sick, because Jack was out of town, and because Jeb was not going to let a stranger, even one who was a hired bodyguard and a gentleman, stay in Elizabeth's home while her husband was out of town unless he was there to protect her.

Jeb kept himself occupied hanging out at the Café and Saloon, minding Little Jack, and doing an assortment of projects at both the homesite and the home. He filled the wood pile, nailed some loose steps, and yesterday at breakfast when Elizabeth had complained that her bed-frame seemed loose, and the bedroom window was sticking, he had set to work immediately repairing them.

Even the visiting superintendent had proved helpful while Jack was gone. After sitting in on her lessons, speaking to parents, reviewing school finances, and substituting for Jack in the skit roles of the sun, moon, and stars, Carleton Sebastian found himself with some free time to spend in Hope Valley, which he decided was an interesting friendly town. When Elizabeth had explained to him about the family's homing pigeons, he had been fascinated about the bird's trained habit of returning to their loft. The female bird, named after Elizabeth, had not disappointed him when he discovered her one morning in her straw-covered nest carrying a message from Jack.

When Carleton surprisingly found Jack's wedding ring under a pile of straw, the human Elizabeth had insisted that the superintendent not even consider spending a night in the Saloon which had had a bed open up in a shared room.

"Jack must have lost the ring the night before he left when he tended to the birds!" a thrilled Elizabeth had exclaimed when Carleton presented her with the gold band outside of the schoolhouse one afternoon.

"I found it when I was cleaning out the hay loft and feeding the bird some seed."

"You didn't have to clean the loft!" Elizabeth replied but she was grateful nonetheless.

"It was no problem. I enjoyed it. I was hoping the male bird would come home too, but the female pigeon is as nice as can be."

* * *

Jack released the male bird, aptly named after himself, into the morning air and watched it fly away with the small metal canister attached to a thin leg. He realized that if Elizabeth didn't check the loft until tomorrow, he would be home before the message arrived, but he liked the idea of sending it anyway. Besides, the bird could use the exercise. As the homing pigeon flew out of sight over a ridge, Jack gently kicked his heels into his horse's flank and began the long ride home.

He carried a small bag of colorful jellybeans in his saddlebag, and the wishful thinking that Elizabeth's favorite candy would make up for the glaring fact that he wasn't wearing a new wedding ring. Nor did he have new rings in his pocket.

 _It's not my fault that the Landsdown Falls jeweler was out of town for the week. She'll understand._

* * *

Eight hours later, Jack stretched his aching back and gratefully looked at the town of Hope Valley. From his position on the small hill, he could see his rowhouse in the distance. He pictured Elizabeth sitting at her desk, or reading a book on the couch while feeding the baby. Maybe writing in her journal. The home would be quiet, warm, and cozy.

"Hi, Mountie Jack. How was your trip?"

Jack turned his head to the right, and looked down at two small boys who were maybe six or seven years old. They were out of breath from running through the tall grass with a kite.

"Good. I'm anxious to get home."

"Did you bring the baby a present? My pa always gets me a present when he goes out of town," the younger of the boys remarked.

"I didn't bring Jacklyn a present but I did get Mrs. Thornton some candy. I was supposed to get some new wedding rings made but I couldn't, so I'm hoping Mrs. Thornton will be happy with a sweet treat," Jack said with a smile.

"Mrs. Thornton got herself a ring," one of the boys offered as he tugged on the long string attached to his simple newspaper and stick contraption which was blowing in the breeze.

"I know she did, but I lost mine and I took hers with me to make a new one."

"No, I mean she got one already. Yesterday", the boy replied. "While you was gone. I seen that school man give her one. At lunch. She was all happy and hugged him and everything."

Jack frowned in puzzlement. "Who? Who did you see give Mrs. Thornton a ring? Who did she hug?"

"The super guy."

"Super guy?"

"Uh huh," the boy replied as he looked upwards and watched his kite fly higher and higher.

"Why is he a super guy?" Jack said with a confused chuckle. "What makes him so special?"

"Dunno. Mrs. Thornton said he's super something."

"Intendive," the boy with the curly hair volunteered knowingly.

"Attentive," Jack corrected. "Super attentive to her? Is that what you meant?"

"He's real nice. So I guess she don't need another ring no more," the boy replied over his shoulder as he and his brother took off running with the kite again.

 _A super attentive man visiting her at the school? Who gave her a ring? Did she replace me already?! . . . . . . Don't be stupid, Jack._

 _I must have misunderstood._

Jack put aside the foolish thought of a man giving Elizabeth a ring, and looked forward to walking in the front door and having her greet him with a warm kiss.

* * *

"Whoa, slow down there," Jack called out to a group of students running in the street as he approached the Saloon after leaving the livery. They were chasing a ball and laughing loudly as they almost bumped into him.

"Hi Mountie Jack, you sleeping at the saloon tonight?" one of the girls asked.

Jack chuckled at the odd question. "No, Mary Ann. Although, I was thinking about stopping inside to check on how things went when I was out of town."

"Where you gonna sleep?"

"At home. With my family. No more sleeping in a tent or boarding house for me this week," Jack said with a good-natured smile. He loved that all the town children enjoyed Elizabeth's teaching but it did lead to the children knowing an awful lot about their family.

"What about your replacement? He's sleeping there. You got enough beds?" a red-haired boy asked as he picked up the ball and began dribbling it.

"Excuse me?"

"Your replacement. Mrs. Thornton replaced you while you was gone."

"What are you talking about?"

"That new man."

"What new man?" _Not that super guy again?_ Jack frowned as he wondered what was going on.

"The guy that took your place. Not the clothes protection guy who's always looking at her body but the other one."

"Come on Bradford. Throw the ball," one of the girls encouraged, and before Jack could interrogate the gang of children, they had sprinted away. Leaving a puzzled Jack standing in the street.

 _Two guys? One gives her a ring and one is always looking at her body?! Why is someone looking at my wife's body?! That's my job._

 _I've been gone a week. What has she gotten herself into now?_ he thought as he decided not to stop by the Saloon but still make a quick stop at the Mercantile to send a telegram to Mountie Headquarters informing it of his return.

 _Maybe I need something more than jellybeans?_

* * *

"Put it on my bill, please. Thornton," Jack instructed the young man behind the counter as he handed him the paper-slip message to be sent by telegraph. "Can you send it out in the next half hour?"

"Sure thing, Sir. What'd you say your name was?"

"Thornton." Jack looked around the mercantile but Ned Yost, the owner, wasn't anywhere in sight. "You must be new in town. I'm the town's constable."

"Yeah, I get that from the uniform. Are you related to the other Thornton family?" the clerk pleasantly asked as he pulled the account book from under the counter.

"What other Thornton family?"

"The one building a house. The wife told me to put the supplies she was buying on the Thornton account. They got a really cute little baby."

"That's my family," Jack noted with a pleasant smile.

"The woman is a school teacher, I think," the clerk remarked as he paged through his book and noticed only one Thornton account. "I should probably get cash from you if you don't have an account already started."

"I do have an account already started. The school teacher is my wife," Jack explained. "If you could hurry up, I'd like to get home to her."

When he noticed the clerk glance at his left hand, Jack spoke up again. "I lost my ring. It's my family you're talking about."

The clerk gave him a dubious look, clearing not believing Jack's story about a lost ring and a marriage to the teacher. "Nope. Sure didn't look like you. It was another guy with her. Maybe there are two school teachers in town and this one is your sister or sister-in-law," he offered warily.

"There is one teacher for town," Jack replied firmly. "I don't have a sister. Or sister-in-law. It was my wife."

"Maybe your cousin?" the clerk suggested.

"I don't have a cousin in town. They live in England," he replied coldly.

"The baby's name was a boy's name," the young man behind the counted noted trying to be helpful.

"I AM JACK THORNTON. My wife is the town's teacher. The baby is my daughter, Jacklyn. We call her Little Jack," Jack replied through gritted teeth.

"Sir, maybe you can just pay cash."

* * *

Jack angrily walked down the steps after practically throwing his change on the counter. The cool evening breeze caused him to pause and take a deep breath.

 _Maybe he meant the Morton family. They might be building a house. I better check tomorrow and make sure we're not billed for their supplies. Yeah, that's probably it. . . . . Although, they don't have a young baby and the wife isn't a teacher._

 _He's just a confused clerk,_ Jack decided.

As he walked near the row-houses, Jack noticed two men walking in his direction and realized he didn't know either of them. It seemed that quite a few new workers had come to town in the week he had been gone. He frowned when he realized that he'd be kept busy in the next few days checking on everyone and ensuring that there was no trouble. What he really wanted over the next few days was to spend time enjoying his family.

When the men came closer, Jack was drawn to the man on the right.

 _That's odd. That looks like one of my shirts. From my tailor in Hamilton. I can't believe that someone else in town would have the same tailor. What a coincidence_. _Sure is a small world_.

Jack nodded to the gentlemen as they passed him, but they were too busy in conversation to notice.

"I don't know much about Jack because he's not back in town, but I've got Elizabeth eating out of the palm of my hand," the man in the expensive hand-tailored shirt said to his companion.

Jack stopped abruptly and whipped his head around at the statement.

The men, oblivious to Jack's concern, continued walking in the opposite direction, and Jack decided that he must have heard incorrectly, but nevertheless, he increased his pace home.

As he approached the front porch, Jack noticed the woodpile looked freshly stocked. In fact, it looked like there was more wood now than there had been before, which made absolutely no sense.

He opened the front door and stepped inside, remembering not to yell out in case the baby was taking a nap. He smiled when the scent of meat and spices wafted through the air, but then he paused.

 _Hmm. That's odd._

 _Why would Elizabeth be making a big dinner if I'm not expected home today. Did she get my message?_

 _Smells delicious._

 _Probably making it for my expected homecoming tomorrow_ , he realized as he smiled again. _She's always thinking of me._

It wasn't until his hand, with the collar of his coat in his grasp, was just inches from the metal hook that he realized that the hook was already occupied. A man's dark blue coat was hanging from it. On the hook to its right was a man's cowboy hat. On the third hook was yet another man's coat. Jack looked at them in slight confusion.

 _Maybe Elizabeth bought me some new coats?_

 _And a hat?_ he thought with a perplexed frown _._

 _. . . These aren't even my size._

 _Visitors?_

He was about to yell out when the he heard Elizabeth's laughter coming from upstairs and before he could react any more, he was startled by the figure of a man appearing at the top of the steps.

"Hey there. I'll be right with you," the large man said in a friendly voice as he carried the baby down the stair case and moved past a speechless Jack. "I just have to get the baby's teething rag."

Jack stopped in his tracks and turned his head, glancing around the home at the furnishings and the framed photos propped on Elizabeth's desk, and then back at the man.

 _Yes, this is my house._

 _I'm Jack Thornton and this is my house._

 _That's my extra pair of boots on the floor._

 _And my drawing on the wall._

 _And that's my baby!_

"Excuse me, who are you and what are you doing with my baby?" Jack asked as the man began searching in the couch for something.

"ELIZABETH!" Jack quickly called up before the man had a chance to respond.

"Jack!" Elizabeth came into the upstairs hallway and stood at the top of the staircase. "You're home early! How wonderful", she happily exclaimed as she hurried down the staircase. "We need to set another place at the table. Jeb, we've got company."

"Company? This is my house", Jack noted with crinkled brows.

Elizabeth laughed. "You know what I meant." She bent down and kissed him quickly on the lips as she reached the bottom step.

"Bethie, did you get any more ointment for the baby's bottom?" the large man carrying Jacklyn asked when he perceived the baby's now wet diaper. Jack observed that the good-looking man holding his daughter was a few inches taller than him, a few years younger than him, and had muscles much larger than his.

"We're all out. Sorry, I forgot to pick up more," Elizabeth responded pleasantly.

"No problem. "I'll run to the mercantile and pick up some," Jeb responded as he handed the baby to Jack. "Hold the baby?"

* * *

"Elizabeth, who is that?" Jack asked as he brought the baby to his chest, and after he had watched Jeb grab a hat and walk out the door. "Why is he asking me to hold my own baby as if it's an imposition to me?"

"That's Jeb,"

"Where did he come from?" Jack's forehead creased in confusion.

"I found him in the street the day you left. He had just gotten into a fight over poker. Not a big one. Just a small tiff. Something about the Ace of Spades. And -"

"You found him in the street? Like a stray dog?!" Jack interrupted.

"Don't be silly", Elizabeth laughed. "A dog wouldn't be fighting over a poker game. Be serious, Jack. Tim Smyth was hauling him off to the jail when I came across them."

"Hauling him off to jail?"

"Yes, but then the other man whistled at me – quite rude if you ask me- but Jeb noticed me- he didn't whistle at me- just looked happily at me, and when he said he wasn't sick, I invited him over." Elizabeth replied absently as she did a quick assessment of Jack as she always did when he returned home after a few days of traveling. Running her hands along his shoulders, looking at his head for injuries. Glancing at his legs to ensure that he wasn't putting more weight on one due to an injury.

"The day after I left? That was days ago. What is he doing here?!"

"He's been helping me out while you've been gone." She barely gave the conversation any thoughts as she gave her attention to making sure that Jack didn't have blood or tears in his clothing. Elizabeth firmly turned Jack around and looked at his backside.

"Why?" Jacked as he twisted his head to look at her.

"I needed a man," she said simply as she turned him back around now that she was satisfied that he was uninjured and she could stop worrying. "Let's get you upstairs to change and then we'll eat. I need to change Little Jack too."

"You needed a man?"

"For man stuff", she said with a shrug.

"Man stuff? Do I even want to know what that means?"

"To keep us warm, help out in the bedroom, etcetera etcetera. You know, physically demanding stuff," she replied over her shoulder as she walked up the steps in front of Jack.

Jack followed her up a few steps and reached out to grasp her arm and stop her from walking further. "I am going to assume for the sake of my mental health that what you just said is a lot more innocent than the way it sounds."

At that moment, the baby, upset over a lack of attention for her wet diaper and pain from her incoming tooth, began loudly fussing.

"Oh , I forgot the teething cloth," Elizabeth lamented. She turned around and moved past Jack as she headed back downstairs.

* * *

"Hold it right there!" a man's professional and stern voice carried across the room. A surprised Jack whipped his head in the direction of the voice. He quickly moved closer to Elizabeth and put his arm protectively on her shoulder while holding the baby in his other arm.

 _Hmmm. It could look like he's putting his arm around me possessively_ , Elizabeth realized with a frown when she noticed Archie's hand go to the holster on his waist. His hand rested on his pistol.

"Elizabeth, step away from him please," Archie ordered as he strode towards them.

"It's okay. This is Jack. My husband."

"He also has a weapon, and is standing entirely too close to you", Archie replied before turning his attention back to Jack. "Get your hand off of her, sir, until I verify who you are."

"What?" Jack gave the man a flabbergasted look. "Who the hell are you? This is my house! How did you even get in here?"

"I live here," the man responded formally.

"You _live_ here?! Since when?!"

"Since Jack Thornton left Elizabeth and the baby."

" _I'm_ Jack Thornton. I didn't _leave_ Elizabeth and the baby!"

"I'm not so sure this is your house. Now calm down. You're upsetting the baby."

"I'm not upsetting _my_ baby. She has a wet diaper and she's teething," Jack retorted irritably.

"Actually, it could be an ear-ache," Elizabeth said with a frown as she scrutinized the baby. "I hope not. She hasn't been tugging on her ear, so you're right - it's probably just the teeth."

"Hand the baby to her mother, and show me some identification," Archie ordered.

"Elizabeth, what is going on?!" a bewildered Jack asked.

"Shh. It's fine. Archie keeps an eye on my body and helps in the kitchen. Just give me the baby and show Archie some identification," Elizabeth answered over Little Jack's cries as she extricated herself from Jack and took the fussing baby from his arms. "I'll get the teething rag."

A flustered Jack hurriedly grabbed his wallet and thrust it at Archie, who scrutinized the identification card inside and the small photograph of the Thornton family of three.

"All good, sir. Sorry for not recognizing you. Just need to be careful. Lots of strangers in town. I'll go check on my biscuits", he said as he headed back towards the kitchen. "Actually, I'll just run down to Abigail's and pick up some fresh bread too," he remarked as he took the tray of baked goods from the oven and then quickly walked out the backdoor of the house with a sideways glance at the couple who he realized were probably missing each other.

"Who was that?!" Jack asked as he gawked at Elizabeth.

"I told you. Archie. He's been keeping his eye on me while you were gone. I'll explain everything while you change."

As Elizabeth started for the staircase, the front door opened and a man entered.

Jack recognized him as the man whom he had heard vulgarly say that he had Elizabeth eating out of the palm of his hand.

"Your mail is here!" the man called out without looking around as he immediately started to take off his hat.

"Your _male_ is here?" a gob-stopped Jack exclaimed. "Another male here for you? What the heck is that supposed to mean?! " He turned his attention to the man. "Who are you?!"

"Jack, this is Carleton. Carleton, this is Jack."

"Is that my shirt?" Jack asked in confusion as he turned his gaze from Elizabeth to Carleton. "Why is he wearing my shirt?!"

"I couldn't let him run around naked. He's wearing your pants too."

"Ahh. The long lost missing Mountie," the superintendent said over his shoulder as he hung his hat on Jack's regular wall hook.

Jack simply stared at the other man who had entered his home without knocking, put his hat on Jack's hook, was standing in his house wearing his clothes, and was holding a letter which Jack now noticed was clearly addressed to Jack Thornton.

"I wasn't missing," Jack said disagreeably.

"Wasn't sure you actually existed," Carleton teased. He turned towards Jack and held out one hand in a friendly manner. "Nice to meet you. I've been replacing you in your role as the center of Elizabeth's universe."

* * *

"How am I supposed to pass my inspection if you punch the school superintendent?!" a shocked Elizabeth exclaimed to Jack ten seconds later.

He shook his fist to ease the pain from the hit to the other man's jaw and stared in bewilderment at his wife.

His homecoming wasn't going at all like he had expected.

 **Up Next: Chapter 73: The Replacement Part 4 – The responsible party (and after that I've got an idea for the next chapter of "Out of this World"; several readers motivated me to continue :))**


	73. Chap73 Pt 4 Responsible Party

**CHAPTER 73: THE REPLACEMENT – PART 4**

 **THE RESPONSIBLE PARTY**

"He said he had you eating out of the palm of his hand!" Jack yelled back after he had grabbed the man by the collar and thrown him out the front door of the house.

"You must have misheard him," Elizabeth replied as she gawked at her husband.

"I did not mishear him. My hearing is perfectly fine."

"He didn't say anything like that!" an astonished Elizabeth declared.

"I heard him when I was walking home. He said 'Jack is out of town and Elizabeth is eating out of the palm of my hand'. With me gone, he's obviously been flattering you to try to take advantage of you " Jack said in repulsion. "It's disgusting."

"He meant the pigeons!"

"The pigeons?" Jack's forehead crinkled in confusion.

"He's been feeding Elizabeth since she came back to the loft," Elizabeth said while wondering how she would apologize to the school board.

Jack stared at her. _The pigeons? Okay, . . . that makes sense. But what about everything else?_

"What about everything else?!" Jack demanded. "He's wearing my clothes! In my house! Holding a letter addressed to me! Telling me that he has replaced me in your world! Of course, I'm going to punch him!"

"He was here doing an inspection!"

"I don't care about your inspection! I care about why my house is overflowing with men coming at me from every direction. Men that I've never seen before. It's like you've been breeding men while I was gone. Or starting some sort of fraternity."

"I think you're exaggerating," Elizabeth said with a dismissive shake of her head as she stepped back to avoid being crashed into by Rip, the family dog, as the animal raced around the corner chasing the family kitten.

Jack scowled at the animals and raised his eyebrows as his wife. "Let's start with the man holding my daughter. The one who you found in the street to keep you warm and to do man-stuff."

"You make it sound so sordid", she said with a shocked look.

"And you telling me that you found a tall strong man in the street to help you in the bedroom with physically demanding stuff doesn't seem the least bit sordid to you?"

"His name is Jeb."

"I don't care what his name is. We'll get to that later. Why is he in our house with you and our daughter?"

"He needed a place to stay and I enjoyed the company and help. It was strictly platonic," Elizabeth explained.

"I told you that if you wanted a man around the house to ask Tim", Jack reminded her.

"I did!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she defended her actions. "I did ask Tim! I asked him if I could have Jeb!"

"You asked him if you could have Jeb?"

"He had another man but I didn't want him. I didn't even know him! So I asked if I could have Jeb."

"That's not what I meant!"

"That's what you said!"

"I didn't mean for you to ask Tim for a _man_!"

" _You_ said that if I felt that I needed a man around the house, I was supposed to ask Tim! You can't fault me for doing what you said!" Elizabeth earnestly reminded Jack, which resulted in him giving her a look of incredulity in response.

 _She actually asked for a man?! Is she serious?! She thought I wanted her to ask Tim to give her a man? Like he'd have an assortment of eligible virile men just laying around?! To give to my wife?!_

Jack shook his head and tried to focus on his line of questioning.

"And the other guy? With the glasses. The school board guy that I just escorted out of the house - is he the guy that's been looking at your body?!"

"Don't be silly! Why would Carleton be looking at my body?"

One of your students said that some man had been looking at your body."

"That's Archie's job. I told you that."

"Archie? The man from the kitchen?!"

"Yes. The man from the kitchen. He keeps busy in the kitchen when he's not following me around like a dog. Now that's a man who's like a dog. Archie won't leave my side half the time but he's actually very sweet when he's not being all firm and professional," Elizabeth said as she concerned herself with the baby and headed upstairs. "He said he's going to make me 'Bubble and Squeak' tonight."

"I don't give a damn what he thinks he's going to do to you!" Jack, his eyes wide in shock, yelled. "He's NOT going to make you bubble and squeak. "YOU'RE MY WIFE! "

Jack actually had no idea what bubble and squeak meant, although it sounded decidedly like something sexual in a bathtub or bed. If anyone was going to make his wife bubble and squeak it was going to be him.

"Jack, he's just trying to be helpful. There's no reason to get upset."

"I am your husband! No one else gets to make you bubble and squeak!" Jack barked.

"Watch her," Elizabeth instructed Jack as she lay the baby on the bed and moved across the room.

Jack remained silent but stood by the baby so she didn't roll off the mattress while Elizabeth grabbed a washcloth and dipped it into a bowl of water sitting on the dresser.

Returning to the bed, she took off the wet diaper and began wiping the baby's bottom. She thought about the various odd-named meals that Archie had learned to make from his female friends.

"He's been showing me what his girlfriends like." Elizabeth explained pleasantly as she tried to get Jack to relax. It was obvious to her that he had had a trying trip.

"I'm going to pretend that his girlfriends like knitting and playing solitaire," Jack retorted. "Did you find him in the street too?"

"No, he was outside the house smoking a cigarette, and he was cold and hungry", Elizabeth said over her shoulder to Jack as she tried to distract the infant by gently blowing on her face.

"Had you ever met him before?"

"No. I had never seen him before the day you left."

"And you just let him in? Just opened the door for him? I told you not to open the door for strangers," Jack reminded her sternly. "Couldn't you just follow a few simple instructions?!"

"I _did_ follow your instructions! I did everything you asked. And I didn't open the door for a stranger."

"Then how did he get inside?" Jack questioned rudely.

"Jeb opened the door for him," Elizabeth answered simply and logically. She picked up the crying baby and began gently rubbing her back. "And your mother sent him."

"My mother? My mother sent you a man to make you squeak and bubble and teach you what his girlfriends like?"

"Jack, would you be sensible? You are not making any sense. You mother probably had no idea about his girlfriends and what they like," Elizabeth said as she crinkled her eyebrows at her husband and wondered what possessed him to ask such odd questions.

"And why the heck do you need someone to protect your clothes?" Jack asked as he remembered his earlier conversation with one of the students.

"My what?" Elizabeth asked as she gave him a puzzled look.

"Your clothes. YOUR CLOTHES!" Jack shouted when Elizabeth stared at him as if he had lost his mind.

"My clothes?" she asked hesitantly. She seriously wondered if he had hit his head on his recent trip.

"Dresses. Blouses. Socks. I don't know! Your clothes!" Jack exclaimed as he was beginning to realize that he sounded like an idiot.

"Jack, I have no idea what you are talking about."

"One of your students – that little boy – Bradford – said you had a man who followed you around to protect your clothes. Some sort of clothes protection man, he called him."

Elizabeth tried to stifle her giggle but couldn't. "Bradford has a lisp. Not a clothes protection man. A _close_ protection man. Archie is a close protection officer. A bodyguard."

"A bodyguard?"

 _Well, that does make more sense that a clothes protection man,_ Jack admitted to himself.

"Your parents sent him to keep an eye on me while you were out of town. Your mother also sent me a telegram after the fact letting me know that she didn't want me and Jacklyn being alone while you were gone, and since she couldn't be with us, she was sending a bodyguard."

Jack paused for a moment, letting the information sink in. He could see his parents doing something as outrageous as sending an expensive bodyguard to protect his family. Although his parents weren't thrilled that Elizabeth was of a lower social class, she was now a Thornton, Jack's true love, and the mother of Charlotte and Tom's only granddaughter. And despite what Elizabeth sometimes believed, they had grown quite fond of her. All of which meant she was family and deserving of support and loyalty.

"And Jeb? Is he a bodyguard?" Jack asked as he glanced at Elizabeth, who winced as she allowed her finger to be chewed on by the baby who had refused the cold teething rag, preferring Elizabeth's soft flesh.

"No, he's a rancher. Why would he be a bodyguard?" Elizabeth responded curiously. _Honestly, where does Jack get his strange ideas?_

"Because he's here in my house and we don't have a ranch!" Jack yelled in exasperation.

"Jeb is an old friend. He's Clint's brother. And he needed a place to stay because Clint is sick."

"And Carleton?"

"No, he's not Clint's brother," Elizabeth said dismissively as she gave Jack an odd look. "He doesn't even look like Clint and Jeb. Besides, Clint and Jeb only have one other brother and that's Peter."

Jack slapped his head at her response, and took a deep breathe to calm himself before speaking again. "Elizabeth, why is Carleton walking around our house like he lives here and announcing he's your new male."

"Mail, Jack. Not male. He brought me the _mail_. And, as I told you,he's the superintendent of the schools here on a surprise inspection. He's very nice. And he took over your role –

"My role?"

"Hmm mmm," she mumbled absently as her attention was again drawn to the baby, who was starting to squirm and fuss again. "I invited him to spend the night."

"He's been sleeping here?!"

"What else was I supposed to do? Town is full up. And when he showed me the wedding ring -"

"You let him sleep here because he showed up with a wedding ring?!" Jack interrupted.

"Not the first night. That was just me being friendly. But when he showed up at the schoolhouse with a gold wedding band in his hand, I couldn't very well kick him out."

"A wedding ring?" Jack said in disbelief. _What is going on here? One week without a wedding ring and she was desperate for another one?! . . . . No. Be logical. This is Elizabeth._

Jack took another deep breath. "Can you please explain what you mean by –"

The high pitch whistle sound of the kettle water boiling on the stove downstairs interrupted Jack.

"I'll get that. Archie must have put the tea kettle on for me before he left," Elizabeth said loudly over the baby's cries as she moved past Jack.

Jack smacked his hand to his forehead again and mumbled. "I just wanted a warm hug and a kiss when I came home."

* * *

Following Elizabeth downstairs, Jack realized that it was impossible for the couple to have a conversation over the whistling of the kettle.

"I was gone one week. I thought you could handle things by yourself while I was gone", Jack said bitterly after Elizabeth took the boiling water off the stove.

He watched as Elizabeth, cradling the baby in one arm, put teabags into two mugs of tea and poured water from the kettle over them. The baby had begun wailing the moment Elizabeth had removed her finger from her tiny mouth.

As soon as Elizabeth handed a mug of steaming tea to Jack, she ignored her own mug and returned her finger to Little Jack's sore gums.

"I could handle things. But this made it so much easier. Jack, do you trust me?" Elizabeth asked sternly.

"Of course, I trust you," he said dismissively. "You know I do. This is not about trusting you."

"Then what is it about?"

"It's about me being gone a week, and coming home to three men having moved in. It's about wanting you not to be taken advantage of by guys that aren't gentlemen, about you being so sweetly naïve that you let people into our home. It's about you being too trusting and kind."

"I was not taken advantage of, and I'm not too trusting and naïve, but I'm not going to turn my back on good people."

Jack looked at his wife and wondered what had transpired during his short time away. He knew he loved and trusted her. Other than that, he wasn't sure what he knew.

"And why is there straw all over the house?!" he demanded in confusion as he looked around the room and threw up his hands in exasperation. It was the only thing he could think of to say at this point.

Elizabeth glanced about and saw pieces of dry plant stalks now littering the floor. "The animals got into Carleton's bed," she said when she realized what must have happened.

Jack sighed deeply and paced the room before speaking again. "Jeb. Archie. Carleton," he recited.

It wasn't a question, just a statement.

"Jack, get over it!" Elizabeth said in exasperation as the baby bit her finger while simultaneously yanking on a fistful of Elizabeth's hair and refusing to let go.

"Jeb. Archie. Carleton. J. A.C. You're spelling Jack. I'm guessing if I had been gone another day or so, a man with the first name beginning with K would have found his way to our doorstep," he said in disgust.

Elizabeth, tired of having to explain why she had three men in the home while the baby was fussing and the dog and kitten were running around in circles, now shook her head in her own frustration. She turned to the pot of stew on the stove – Archie's latest recipe he was making for tonight - and began stirring it with a wooden spoon she had picked up from the counter. And with each stir she thought about the situation.

"Well?" Jack asked, waiting for further explanation of why it looked like his wife had stocked up on men in anticipation of an unlikely impending shortage.

"Jack, what were you thinking about when you were gone?" she asked calmly.

"I definitely wasn't thinking about coming home to a rancher, a bodyguard, and a superintendent living with my wife and my house being turned into a barn stall."

" _What_ were you thinking?" she asked again as she turned to look at him. "When you had hours to think as you rode away from town. And when you slept under the stars and in boarding houses."

Jack paused. He certainly hadn't expected such a question. Especially when he didn't see how he had anything to do with the situation. It wasn't like he had been sending spare men her way.

"I . . . I was thinking about you and Jacklyn. And my job. The weather. My horse. . . . And just stuff", he answered. "What does it matter?"

"Were you wishing and praying for anything?"

"Of course I was," he answered curtly. "I was wishing and praying that you would be okay. That'd you'd be safe and healthy. That you wouldn't be scared with me gone so soon after the incident with the bastards that broke in before."

Elizabeth smiled and gave a little shrug as she set the baby in the kitchen bassinet and handed her the wooden spoon to gnaw on. "You must have been doing an awful lot of wishing and praying because it was answered threefold."

A dumbfounded Jack stared at her.

He was about to argue with her but he stopped himself. She moved to lean against the kitchen table and was now watching him. Smiling at him. She watched his face as realization came over Jack that his wishes and prayers had been answered. She had been safe. Jacklyn had been safe.

Elizabeth stood up straighter and reached into her blouse. Jack watched curiously as she pulled out a thin chain with her locket from Tiffany & Co. Nestled next to the locket was his wedding band.

With a smile on her face, Elizabeth took the ring off the chain and walked towards Jack.

"I –" Jack wasn't sure what he was going to say but it didn't matter because she spoke first.

"Thank you. For all your wishing and praying," she said softly just before she lifted her mouth to his and kissed him tenderly. "For making sure that your family was safe. You sent me three fine men."

"But I –", Jack started to say but then he realized that there was nothing to say as she put his ring back on his finger. Where it belonged. Where he had felt bare for a week.

His family was safe. His wife was looking extremely sexy. And for some crazy reason, she was thanking him for somehow illogically being responsible for her three helpful house guests.

 _She's so adorable. How does she do this?! Make me totally forget about being irritated or worried._

 _Ah hell . . ._

Jack let every thought leave his mind except one.

* * *

Hours later, Jack lay naked in bed next to Elizabeth as she turned down the wick on the kerosene lamp on the nightstand. Before the room went dark, the gold band on her left ring finger glistened in the flame light.

Jack had emptied the house of the three men that he had apparently miraculously been responsible for sending to his grateful wife.

Jeb had been sent to stay with Clint, who was finally feeling better.

Archie had been dismissed from his duties now that Jack was back home.

Carleton had moved into a shared room at the Saloon before he left town for his scheduled inspection in Bue's Falls.

The only person who stayed in the home with the couple was Jacklyn, whom Jack decided to keep in the crib in their room for another night.

"I specifically told you before I left that I didn't want any settlers, railroad workers, lumber mill workers trying to court you", he said good-naturedly as he rolled over onto his elbows.

"I didn't! Jeb is a rancher, Archie is a close protection officer, and Carleton is a superintendent."

"And I said that I didn't want any clueless illiterate widowers try to court you," he reminded her with smile.

"None of them are illiterate."

"Not even the big bloke Jeb?"

Elizabeth giggled. "He can read just fine. I taught him myself years ago. I used to tutor him after school."

"That doesn't make me feel any better. The two of you alone, sitting closely looking at a book while his teenage hormones were raging."

"We were like siblings. There were no teenage hormones raging. And none of them are clueless widowers. Jeb has a girl he's courting back home. Carleton is married. And Archie has three lady friends."

"Three?! That's also not making me feel any better," Jack remarked.

"Besides, I could never replace you. You know that."

"You replaced me as prop man in the school play."

"Okay. Yes, I did. I admit that. But that is only a play and only for rehersals," Elizabeth noted. "You really are the sun, and moon, and stars to me. Don't ever forget that", she said softly and earnestly.

"As long as you don't," he said with a lot of love and just the tiniest bit of worry.

"Never", she whispered as she found his lips in the dark.

 **Dear Readers: While you're waiting for the next chapter, you can check out my other fun light-hearted story, "Out of this World".**


	74. Chapter 74 - A Penny for Your Thoughts

**Chapter 74 –MATH PART 1 - A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS**

The shrieks of children laughing in delight carried through the main street – technically the only real street in Hope Valley - as the boys and girls clamored down the steps of the mercantile.

Someone not familiar with the town might think that Mr. Yost's business establishment was the school letting out at the end of the day by the way the crowd of children happily called out to each other as they ran and skipped away from the building.

The children eagerly dug into their brown paper bags and contemplated what to put in their mouth first. A lollipop. A gumdrop. A piece of chocolate. Or maybe a jaw breaker.

Inside the mercantile, Mr. Yost closed his cash register and smiled at his good fortune. He had sold more candy in the last twenty minutes than he normally sold in a week. He shook his head in amusement at how he had profited from someone else's foolish mistake.

* * *

Inside Abigail's Café, Elizabeth took a seat at a table along the wall and jostled her daughter on her lap. A few patrons sat at another table but the majority of the restaurant's chairs were empty. It was too late for lunch and too early for dinner. This was the time that Elizabeth liked the Café the best because, despite their normally busy lives, Abigail could usually join her for a hot cup of tea.

As if on cue, Abigail appeared out of the kitchen carrying two teacups and saucers which she placed on the table. "I'll be right back", she remarked and, a minute later, she reappeared with a teapot and a plate of freshly made cookies.

"How'd school go today?" Abigail asked as took a seat across from Elizabeth. She poured the hot liquid into the tea cups and smiled at the baby who was had a fistful of Elizabeth's hair and was tugging on it as if it was a bell-cord and she was a princess summoning a servant. Elizabeth had grown accustomed to a lock of her hair being wet from the baby's mouth, or grasped in a tiny fist, and she barely noticed the tugging anymore. Besides, it kept the baby happy.

Elizabeth lifted the cup to her mouth and took a tentative sip to check the temperature. "Not so well," she answered and then took a long sip, savoring the warm relaxing flavor.

"A lesson or a student? Or both?"

"Math class," Elizbeth replied simply but she rolled her eyes showing her annoyance with the day's lesson.

"Oh dear. This isn't like the time you had Pi day and the students were expecting pie, is it?" Abigail asked with laughter in her eyes. "Not that I'm complaining. It was good for my business. You ended up buying quite a few pies from me that day to appease your crying students."

"Today was less messy but more expensive", Elizabeth said with a sigh while her friend smiled. "Much more expensive. Much, much, more expensive."

"What happened?" Abigail asked as took a sip of tea and pushed the plate of cookies closer to her friend.

"I wanted my students to realize how important a good knowledge of math can be. Not just important, but incredible!" Elizabeth said eagerly as if she needed to convince Abigail of the benefits of education. "That it can be so beneficial."

"So far, I'm not seeing a problem. What _exactly_ did you do?"

"They were bored. Slumping in their seats like I was the most uninteresting person they had ever had seen. Like watching grass grow would be better than my arithmetic lesson. So, I offered them a choice." Elizabeth set down her teacup as if signaling the end of a conversation which she was dreading continuing.

"A choice?" Abigail prodded.

Elizabeth's realized that everyone in town was going to be talking about it soon enough. And it was probably best to test out her explanation on her best friend before she had to face Jack.

"I offered the students a choice. Money. I would give them fifteen cents each if they wanted the money today, _or_ if they wanted, they could instead have just a single penny today, but for the next fourteen days, I would double the number of pennies every day."

"Money today or money over time? That was their choice?"

"Right. If they took the fifteen cents today, that would be all they would get. But if they took just one cent today, they'd get two cents tomorrow, four cents the next day, eight cents the next day, and so on and so on until the fifteenth day. I was pretty sure that my students would go for the instant fifteen cents."

"I'm guessing that got their attention," a grinning Abigail remarked.

"Twenty students jumped out of their seats and held out their palms. Happily demanding fifteen cents each. They cost me three dollars."

"Three dollars! That's an expensive lesson. It's a day's wages!" Abigail exclaimed.

"I know. But I figured it was worth it to teach them about the value of math."

Noticing a nod from a man at a nearby table, Abigail stood up and carried the teapot over to him and the other customers. Refilling their cups, she hurried back to Elizabeth and tried to commiserate with her troubled friend.

"We all make mistakes. Three dollars is a lot. I can't imagine losing a whole day's pay and Jack may shake his head a bit, but you made the students' day," she offered in an uplifting voice.

"I know. That's why the students were leaving the mercantile with bags of candy in their sweaty uneducated little palms."

Abigail imagined twenty happy students explaining to their parents how they had outsmarted the teacher by getting paid for being bored. "Wait a second", she said with a perplexed look "Don't you have twenty-one students? Who was absent?"

"No one was absent. All twenty-one were there."

Abigail's brows furrowed. "One student didn't take the money today?"

"Josiah Greenson is incredible smart," Elizabeth noted with a proud smile before remembering how much the sixteen-year old boy's intelligence was going to cost her. "He's my prize student. He has so much potential. I always give him much more difficult instruction than any other child because he's older and so much more advanced. But I included him in the offer."

"Uh oh. Why do I get the feeling something unfortunate happened?"

"While the other students were greedily imagining how much candy they could get for fifteen cents, Josiah was actually doing the math," a disgruntled Elizabeth explained. "Before I did."

"So, you had to give him a penny today, and two tomorrow?"

"And so, on and so on for two weeks," Elizabeth nodded and then stared into her teacup as if the answer to her dilemma was floating in the silky brown liquid.

"How much could it possibly cost you?" Abigail asked dismissively as she picked up an oatmeal raisin cookie from the china plate and motioned for Elizabeth to do the same. "Eat a cookie. They're good."

"Three hundred twenty-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents."

The cookie fell from Abigail's hand before it reached her mouth. Her eyes got wide and she blurted out, "Oh my God! That can't be right!"

"It is," a resigned Elizabeth replied.

"It can't be! You said it was just a penny the first day, and only doubled each day for fifteen days. It can't be that much. You must be wrong!" Abigail argued earnestly.

"Nope. I'm not wrong. It's three hundred twenty-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents when you add up the money for each day."

"Are you sure?" Abigail gasped.

"I did the math myself. Five times. Apparently so did Josiah before he declined my offer of fifteen cents today. I was wondering why he was taking so long," she said as she remembered the scene in her classroom. "A penny the first day doubles to two cents on the second day, four cents on the third day, eight cents on the fourth day, sixteen cents on the fifth day, thirty-two cents on the sixth day, and so on and so on. By the tenth day, it's more than ten dollars. And by the fifteenth day its one hundred and sixty dollars. Adding together the amounts I have to give him each day adds up to three hundred twenty-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents."

"What are you going to do?" Abigail asked with a grimace.

Elizabeth gave a defeated shrug. "Avoid Jack so he doesn't find out."

"You can't avoid your husband," Abigail said with a chuckle to her cowardly friend. "Stop being a chicken."

* * *

The chicken pot pie looked delicious. Elizabeth took one more look at the golden-brown crust which was covering tender potatoes, soft carrots, and moist chicken pieces before closing the oven door to keep it warm. She took off her oven mitts and set them down on the small counter. Even the harshest critic wouldn't be able to find fault with her planned dinner.

Elizabeth glanced over at her daughter who was laying on a soft blanket cooing happily. Jacklyn's tiny fingers played with her bare toes despite Elizabeth having put socks on the feet earlier.

"Listen, little one, you can't just take your socks off and throw them on the floor," Elizabeth said with a smile as she bent down and picked up the tiny crochet coverings meant to keep the baby's feet warm.

Setting the socks on the counter, Elizabeth retrieved a silver candlestick from the cupboard. She ran her fingers along several candles until she finally decided on a pale pink one. She inserted the slender stick of wax into the candlestick and placed it in the center of the table.

 _Perfect!_

Once she had thought about it, Elizabeth realized that she actually couldn't avoid Jack. Not only did they live together, but she was hopelessly in love with him. And, well, the more she thought about the activities last night, the more she really wanted a repeat tonight.

 _Gosh, he was so virile!_ She paused and replayed last night's events in her mind until she realized she was standing there grinning _. Even after being home for a week, he still finds a way to be incredible._ She actually had a feeling that Jack was trying to outdo himself to ensure that she wasn't going to replace him after she had had three men living in the home.

 _A good dinner and maybe a nice bath and then when he's relaxed and thinking about how incredible I am, I'll casually mention my school day._

The sound of the door opening caused Elizabeth to tense up. She ran her hands over her apron and tucked a stray piece of hair behind an ear.

"Hi, Jack! Welcome home," she greeted him enthusiastically. "Dinner's ready. We can eat as soon as you wash up."

Jack hung his hat on a wall hook and his jacket on another before taking off his weapon belt. Taking his time, he placed the weapon in its holster on a third hook before turning around and addressing Elizabeth.

She knew that he knew something. He was giving her one of those looks. It wasn't so much a look of exasperation or anger. More like a look of disbelief. Mixed with curiosity. Then mixed with exasperation.

"Elizabeth," he said as he approached her. He lightly touched his lips to her offered cheek. "Why did Mr. Greenson tell me that it's okay if you can't afford to keep your word. He was very nice and seemed reluctant but he explained that he understands that your love of teaching sometimes gets ahead of you."

"What else did he say?" Elizabeth asked nervously as she twisted her hands behind her back.

"Not much more because his wife started to cry."

"Started to cry?!"

Jack picked up his daughter and looked adoringly at the baby before giving a less adoring look to his wife.

"I couldn't understand everything between her sobs, but from what I got out of it, Josiah has always wanted to go to university but they never thought they could afford it. And then Josiah came home from school today very excited about the prospect. They thought that he had won a scholarship. Apparently, Mrs. Greenson even got down on her knees and said a thank you to God."

"A thank you to God?" Elizabeth said meekly. _Oh, dear, this may be worse than I thought_.

"Yep. For a scholarship and the opportunity to have a future doing something instead of manual labor like his father and grandfathers before him. No one in the family has ever gotten past eighth grade except Josiah."

"What else did they say?" Elizabeth asked guiltily before busying herself with putting forks and knives on the table next to the plates which were already there.

"Apparently Josiah was thrilled at the prospect of college and was already sending away for some applications when his parents discovered he hadn't actually won a scholarship. They had to explain that it wouldn't be right to take money from _you_. From you," Jack repeated for emphasis as if Elizabeth needed reminding of what had occurred today. "Then they told me to tell you not to worry about it and hurried away before Mrs. Greenson fell apart completely."

Elizabeth slumped into the nearest wooden chair.

"What did you do now?" Jack asked, although he silently questioned whether the wanted to know the answer. "Why did Josiah get the impression that you were footing the bill for his college tuition?"

"Math."

"Math?" a puzzled Jack repeated.

Elizabeth nodded.

"Not again", Jack said with a deep sigh. "Is this like Pi day?"

"Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Elizabeth cried out.

* * *

"Elizabeth, how could you?! That's half your yearly salary!" Jack bellowed after Elizabeth had explained what had occurred at school.

"I know! I know!" wailed Elizabeth. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"How could you make the offer in the first place?! Didn't you realize how much money it would be?!"

"I didn't do the math fast enough before I made the offer! I just said it without thinking it through!"

"Well stop doing that!"

"And I wasn't expecting any of the students to actually choose the penny doubling option. It was supposed to be a cautionary lesson on how much money you can miss out on if you don't know math."

"A cautionary lesson," she timidly repeated when Jack stood there, still a bit stunned from her explanation and the amount of money it was going to cost them.

"I'm getting the feeling that you're the one learning a lesson," Jack noted dryly.

Jack paced the small room. "We have to give him the money. A Thornton cannot go back on his . . . or _her_ word. Ever."

"I could go for double or nothing in a game of poker. I'm sure that I would win," Elizabeth suggested earnestly.

"You cannot gamble with a sixteen-year old!"

Elizabeth cringed slightly at Jack's loud voice. "Don't worry, Jack. Sit down and eat." She motioned to the table, and then took the baby from his arms.

"I'm not worried. I'm upset!"

"I'm sorry," she offered weakly.

"I'll take the money out of my company account," he said with a scowl. "We weren't supposed to ever have to touch those funds. We're supposed to be living off our salaries as a Mountie and a teacher. That's a little hard to do when you give away half your year's salary."

* * *

Dinner was eaten mostly in silence except for an occasional gleeful sound from Jacklyn who delighted in getting her tiny fingers past Elizabeth's notice until after she had smooshed them into the pot pie and was already smearing the gooeyness into Elizabeth's hair.

"This is really good," Jack said begrudgingly. He set down his fork and leaned back into his chair and gave her a steely stare, but she knew he had softened.

"Thanks. I have a nice dessert too."

"You made it to make up for the money. To pacify me," he accused her.

"Did it work?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm not mad," he conceded.

"I'm so sorry about the money. You have to know that."

Jack picked up his glass and took a sip of wine before responding.

"It's just money and we have it," he admitted. "I know how enthusiastic you get about teaching. It's one of the things I love about you. But can you promise me that you'll be more careful with your teaching methods? Maybe next time, try a field trip to the pond instead of giving away six months' salary?"

"I promise. I really do!" she answered gratefully.

Elizabeth stood up, handed the baby to Jack, and cleared the dinner dishes. She quickly ran a lock of her hair under some water to rinse out the gooeyness, and then twisted all of it into a bun. She grabbed some pins from a nearby basket and strategically placed them into her hair to keep it contained and out of way of dessert. Jacklyn would have to find another way to entertain herself.

As she sliced the freshly made cherry pie for dessert, Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder. Jack was making faces at their daughter as the girl put her tiny hand into his mouth while he pretended to munch on it.

 _He is such a wonderful husband and father,_ Elizabeth thought to herself _. I'll find a way to pay Josiah the money. And it won't be Jack's family money!_

 _Think, Elizabeth. Think! How can I make three hundred twenty-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents_?!

* * *

Elizabeth, sitting on the edge of the mattress, was still thinking about how to earn the money, when Jack crawled onto the bed. Sitting on his knees behind her, his lips kissed her neck softly and slowly.

Elizabeth tilted her head to the side.

 _Three hundred twenty-seven dollars and sixty-seven cents_ , she thought pensively as Jack reached his fingers over her shoulders and began unbuttoning her blouse.

She struggled out of the cotton garment and dropped it on the floor.

Jack's hands reached into her hair and began taking out her hair pins. He took his time, alternating removing a hair pin with a soft kiss.

Removing a hair pin.

Tender lips on a shoulder.

Removing a hair pin.

A warm mouth moving along her neck.

Removing a hair pin.

A lingering kiss on the upper back between her shoulder blades.

Removing a hair pin.

A tongue traveling down her back as she undid her corset.

Elizabeth, undressing without even thinking about it, was only half aware of what Jack was doing as she wracked her brain for a way to earn money.

It wasn't until Jack had released all her long hair from the confines of the metal pins, and pulled her down so that she lay under his strong body with her back against the soft mattress, that the answer suddenly came to Elizabeth.

 _That's it! Oh, Jack, you do inspire me. You've helped me come up with a way to earn some money!_

As he pulled her into a passionate kiss, one last thought came to mind before she tried to concentrate on him.

 _I just can't tell Jack before I do it. I definitely can't tell him._

UP NEXT: CHAPTER 75

Dear Reader R: I smiled when you said for me to do an update so that my story wouldn't fall off your row . :)


	75. Chapter 75- Hair Today

**CHAPTER 75 – Math Part 2 -HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW**

The little Thornton baby girl had no idea why Elizabeth was being so difficult. Sometimes it was so easy to get the woman who was known as her mother to do what she wanted. Other times, like now, it was so hard. Jacklyn thought she had made it clear on numerous occasions that she liked to grasp Elizabeth's long hair in her tiny hands. It was fascinating. Long. Soft. It slipped through her fingers. It was even fun to stuff in her mouth and mash between her gums. And yet, the woman was not being agreeable.

Elizabeth gently removed the baby's hand from her hair. "Sorry, Little Jack, but you're going to have to get used to it. No more long hair for you to pull on."

Elizabeth took a final look in the mirror before picking up the single piece of paper from the dresser. Last night, while Jack had slept soundly and she had been awake feeding the baby, Elizabeth had juggled Jacklyn against her breast with one hand and, with a pencil in the other, had written a list of ways to earn money.

She knew that Jack would use the income from his share of the family business to pay her student Josiah but Elizabeth had decided that she was going to repay Jack.

It was just a matter of planning.

* * *

Elizabeth put her plans in the back of her mind during class and concentrated on teaching her students new vocabulary words, geography, and civics. Students came first. How she was going to make extra money would have to wait awhile. Just not too long. She didn't like feeling indebted.

Directly after she let out school for the day, she picked up a newspaper and headed to Abigail's Café. While she sat at the round table by the window, Elizabeth looked over the small head of Jacklyn, who was sitting on her lap and faintly smudging ink on her hands as she busily crinkled the newspaper headlines.

Elizabeth didn't care about the top news stories. She was interested in the classifieds.

"How'd school go today?" Abigail asked when she finally had a chance to sit down.

"Okay. I gave two pennies to Josiah. He looked a bit guilty but I told him it was perfectly fine. His good math skills earned him the money and he can expect four cents tomorrow. I'm not sure the younger students have grasped the matter, but they will soon enough."

"They'll be kicking themselves when they keep seeing Josiah get more and more money.

"Maybe next time they'll pay attention in math. But, honestly, I'm grateful they wanted instant gratification. I don't want to imagine if any more of them had taken the fifteen-day offer."

"What are you looking for?" Abigail asked with a nod toward the newspaper.

"Hair buyers."

"Hair buyers?" Abigail asked in confusion.

Positioning the folded page of the classified section in front of Abigail, Elizabeth pointed to the advertisement.

"I'm going to cut off my hair and send it to a hair buyer. I'm hoping he pays by the ounce. My hair's nice and full so I might get more money than if he pays by length. Mine's not as long as some women who have it down their backs all the way to their derrieres. I've made a list of ways to earn money. This is number one. It's the easiest so I thought I'd do it first."

Elizabeth was so busy talking and examining – and admiring - a handful of her hair which she had brought in front of her face that she didn't notice Abigail's shocked expression.

"You can't!" Abigail gasped.

"I don't like that Jack has to pay for my mistake. I have my pride."

"I'd rather than my hair than my pride," Abigail replied as she looked at her friend and shook her head in bewilderment. "Where in the world did you get such an idea?"

"I was reading a short story by the writer O. Henry last week. The wife sold her hair to buy a present for her husband. And I remembered that Jo sold her hair in Little Women. Last night when Jack was –"

Elizabeth paused in mid-sentence. "When Jack was . . . ", she hesitated again as her cheeks became pink.

Abigail looked expectedly at Elizabeth. "When Jack was what? Ohh", she said with sudden realization "When Jack was being . .. amorous."

"Yes, when Jack was being . . .amorous, and touching my hair, I thought of it."

Abigail shook her head. "I don't know, Elizabeth. This seems a bit extreme."

"Women do it all the time."

"I've heard of it but I've never met any woman who actually did it," Abigail countered.

"Neither have I," Elizabeth admitted. "But I'm sure plenty of women do it."

"The character in the O. Henry story, yes. Jo March from Little Women, Yes. Poor women with no other decent way to earn money, yes. But not YOU! Not a school teacher married to a Mountie who happens to also be heir to a fortune and part owner of a company."

"Yes _me_. I got into this mess. I will fix it. It's just hair. It will grow back."

"What does Jack say about this?"

"I haven't told him yet. He'll find out after it's done."

"Oh, dear", was all Abigail could think of to say as she looked at her best friend.

* * *

"You have any deer meat this week?" Jack pleasantly asked the young man behind the counter as he entered Mr. Yost's mercantile on his way home at five o'clock. Although Jack could easily hunt, he didn't have the time or desire to field-dress a deer and then butcher it himself. As he had left the livery at the end of his duty, he had been thinking that some nice venison steaks would taste delicious for dinner one night this week.

"Sven's taking orders if you want some," the clerk replied. He pulled out a notepad and was writing down Jack's order, when Ned Yost, who was standing by the small telegraph device, raised his finger to Jack.

"Your wife got a reply to her telegram. It just came in. Do you want me to type it out and have someone deliver it?" the man asked as he finished listening to the dot and dash sounds coming across the wire.

"No, that's okay. I didn't even know she was sending a telegram to anyone. You can just tell me the reply."

"We can pay by ounce if you prefer," Ned Yost said.

"Excuse me?"

"That's the reply," Ned replied. "We can pay by ounce if you prefer."

"Pay what by ounce? What does that even mean?"

"You'll have to ask your wife."

* * *

When he arrived home, Jack still couldn't think what Elizabeth would be interested in selling, despite having tried to come up with possibilities as he had left the mercantile and walked down the dirt path. Ned Yost, suddenly wary that he had violated Canadian Telegraph laws, stated that he had already told Jack too much by divulging the reply message.

"Hi, honey." Elizabeth looked up from her typewriter and then at the clock on the wall. "I didn't realize it was so late already." She was sitting at her desk which was covered with paper, writing utensils, a dictionary, and a thesaurus.

Jack bent down and picked up some balls of crumpled-up paper which were scattered on the floor.

"Thanks," Elizabeth said. She continued pecking on the typewriter keys. "I'm writing a story. I'll stop in a few minutes. Let me just finish this chapter."

"Where's Jacklyn?"

"Taking a nap," Elizabeth answered as she barely glanced at Jack, who was now looking around for his missing daughter.

"She's here on the floor by my side," Elizabeth added. She pushed the carriage return and the machine made a dinging sound as the carriage returned to the far right and fed the paper to advance to the next line.

"I just came from the mercantile," Jack announced casually.

"Did you get any more paper? I've been doing a lot of typing and I forgot to pick up some more today."

"No. I didn't."

"That's okay. I'll get it tomorrow. How was your day? I – " Elizabeth stopped talking midsentence as an idea struck her and she concentrated on a sentence on the paper in front of her.

Jack threw the used paper gathered from the floor into the nearby trash bin and sat on the couch.

After a moment, Elizabeth realized that Jack wasn't speaking. She looked up from the typewriter. "What? Why are you just sitting there looking at me like that?"

"I just came from the _mercantile_ ", Jack said slowly with an emphasis on the word mercantile.

While he knew that he could just come right out and ask her what she was up to, he didn't want to let on that he didn't already know. As he had been taught at the academy, sometimes it's better to let the culprit think you know more than you do. Of course, Elizabeth wasn't a culprit, Jack realized, but still, for some strange reason, he often thought of her that way.

"I heard you," Elizabeth said as her eyes questioned him. "You were at the mercantile."

"They'll pay by the ounce," he stated firmly. "You got your reply telegram."

Elizabeth's eyes got wide. _Darn, he found out._

"By the ounce?" she repeated; hoping he wouldn't try to talk her out of selling her hair.

"That's what you wanted, isn't it?"

"It is." _Okay, he's not so upset. . . yet s_ he thought gratefully.

"I guess you're pleased then?"

"Yes. I'll handle it tomorrow."

"We should talk about this," Jack declared. He threw a small decorative pillow off to the side and stared at her, trying to get her resolve to break. Okay, maybe 'break' isn't the right word, he realized. Remember, she's your wife, not a suspect, he told himself.

"There's nothing to talk about. It's mine and I'm selling it," Elizabeth announced simply as she went back to typing.

"Yours? Just yours?" _What is she talking about?_

"Yes," she said firmly. "Mine."

"I thought we were a family. What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours. And Jacklyn's in there too," Jack said pleasantly.

"I know Jacklyn loves touching it but it's all mine. Part of _my_ body."

 _What is she talking about?!_

"What about me? Don't you think I love touching it? " Jack asked with a poker face as he tried not to let on that he was, at this very moment, clueless.

Elizabeth gave him a smile. She stopped typing and leaned back in her chair. "I know you love the fullness and softness when you touch it."

"I do," Jack admitted as he nodded his head thoughtfully. _What do I love that's full and soft?_

"And I know that you find it sexy but you'll have to do without it for a while," she teased.

 _What do I find sexy? And I have to do without it?_

 _That doesn't seem fair, he_ thought with a small frown.

"How long do you think I'll have to do without it? Just so I have a general idea," he asked seemingly unconcerned.

"Gosh, I'm not sure."

 _. . . . . Part of her body? Full? Soft? Sexy? Something both Jacklyn and I like? . What? . . . . . Her bosom?! . . . . This makes no sense_.

"I do love when you release it," Elizabeth noted with a wistful sigh as she thought about how much Jack loved taking out her hair pins.

 _When I undo her corset? Is that what she's thinking of?_

"And when you put your face in it and kiss me."

 _I do like kissing her chest,_ Jack contemplated.

"And you're going to _sell_ it?" he asked hesitantly. _How do you sell a bosom?_

"It's not that unusual. Women have been doing it for ages."

 _Dear Lord, what has gotten into her? What is she thinking of doing? "_ But –"

"It's healthy" Elizabeth interrupted "It will bring a good price. Especially if I sell it by the ounce."

 _Oh my god, she's going to sell her breast milk!_

"You can't be serious!" Jack erupted.

"Why not?"

"You can't! We are not some poor starving family that needs the money. And besides, what will Jacklyn do?!"

"Pshaw," Elizabeth said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "She'll get over it."

"Get over it? She needs it!"

"Needs it? She doesn't need it," Elizabeth said without seeming to care about her daughter's wants. "She likes grabbing it. That's for sure. She's always tugging and pulling. Honestly, it can hurt."

"Maybe you're doing it wrong," Jack suggested helpfully.

"Doing it wrong?" Elizabeth crinkled her face in confusion at Jack. "What are you talking about?"

"Your breast milk! You want to sell your breast milk!"

"Good God, where did you get that idea?!"

"You're talking about your bosom!"

"My bosom?" Elizabeth's posture pulled back in surprise.

"Your breasts! Soft. Full. We like to touch them. You're going to sell your breast milk by the ounce. Aren't you?" he asked a little hesitantly as he didn't like the look she was starting to give him.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in disgust at her husband. "Oh, for Pete's sake, I am not going to sell my breast milk."

"Then what are you talking about?"

Elizabeth looked at Jack as if he was a student who hadn't been paying the least bit of attention to her lecture. "What do I have that's soft and full that both you and Jacklyn like to touch?"

Jack stared at her with an empty expression on his face.

"Think, Jack. Think," she ordered scornfully.

"Your bosom is all I can think of," he answered honestly. "If it's not that, what is it?"

"I'm going to go start dinner. Figure it out yourself, you goose," she said with an irritated shake of her head as she stood up from her desk. "And if you think you're going to be touching my bosom any time soon after that stupid comment, I'll tell you right now that you're not."

* * *

It wasn't until dinner was almost ready that Jack realized what Elizabeth intended to sell. He had been playing with Jacklyn, who had woken up with a smile on her face, and was now gleefully snuggling against him. Taking her into the kitchen, he handed the baby to Elizabeth so he could tend to the fire. The little girl immediately reached for Elizabeth's hair.

"Your hair!" Jack called out as if he had just won a price. "You're going to sell your hair! . . . . . You're going to sell your hair?!"

"Yes. I am going to sell my hair," Elizbeth answered as she moved past him and put two plates on the table.

"Why?!"

* * *

"Why are you making this so difficult?" Elizabeth asked five minutes later. She thought she had adequately explained what she had intended to do and why, but Jack was still being contrary.

"Me?! You're the one that gave away half your yearly salary and now wants to run around town like a boy!"

"I won't look like a boy!" Elizabeth argued. _Oh gosh, please, I hope not._

"What are you going to tell people?" Jack demanded. "Because I think they'll notice if you cut off all your hair."

"I'll just tell them that I had lice."

"Right. Because that's a lot better than telling them that you're just bad at math," Jack replied snarkily.

"Fine. Then I'll just tell them the truth. That I owed Josiah the money and sold my hair to help pay him."

"You can't do that. The poor boy will be traumatized. You can't make him feel guilty that his teacher has to walk around with a bowl-cut because he picked the right answer in math. He'll never answer a question correctly again."

"It's not going to be a bowl-cut! It will be a stylish short haircut."

Jack gave her a look of incredulity. "There's no such thing as a stylish short haircut for women."

Elizabeth scrounged up her face in irritation at Jack. He did have a point. She had never actually seen a grown woman with short hair except for Maisy Deval in Aberdeen and she only had short hair because of the farming accident.

"I love your hair. I don't want you to cut it," Jack said.

"You didn't even think about my hair until ten minutes ago," she reminded him as she looked at him with contempt. "I could be bald and you wouldn't have noticed. You were too busy concentrating on a part of my anatomy."

"I still love it. I've loved it since the first dinner we had together. When it was all curly and messy and you couldn't control the ringlets."

"Wouldn't you love me just as much if I had short hair?" she asked knowingly.

"You know I would," Jack conceded. "That's not the point. The point is –"

"The point is I need to pay my debt," Elizabeth said as she cut him off.

"Where did you get the idea from anyway?" he challenged.

"A short story I read," she answered.

"Stop reading!"

Elizabeth drew back like she had been slapped. "Stop reading?" she gasped. "Stop reading?"

"That's it. We are banning all books from this house," Jack announced in vain. Even as he said the words he knew how stupid he sounded. In fact, he was surprised Elizabeth didn't laugh at him. "Little Jack needs to be changed. I'll do it," he said tersely as he took the baby upstairs.

* * *

The topic of hair cutting was avoided at dinner. As were the topics of short stories, books, telegrams, math lessons, and money. Jack politely mentioned that he had seen a bear in the woods, and Elizabeth, with equal politeness, asked if he thought the weather was going to get any warmer in the next few days. All in all, it was one of their less entertaining dinner conversations.

After dinner, Jack had polished his boots, cleaned his weapon, and sung to Jacklyn until she fell asleep in his arms. Elizabeth had washed some diapers, graded school papers, and ironed two blouses.

Hair was not discussed.

As she got ready for bed, Elizabeth couldn't help but feel a twinge of regret over her decision, especially when she saw her beautiful hair combs and brush on her dresser. _It will grow back_ , she told herself with conviction.

"Jack, you're not still mad, are you?" she asked as she pulled back the covers and crawled into bed beside him. "It's just that I need to pay my own way. "

"I'm not mad."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm not mad. I'm a little hurt. But I'll get over it," he said kindly.

"Hurt? Why are you hurt?"

"Because your pride means more to you than my feelings," he replied simply.

"That's not true," she argued with a frown at his childishness.

"You know how I feel," he retorted.

"It's just hair," she said dismissively.

"Maybe to you. But not to me. I was thinking tonight about how I like to tuck a stray piece behind your ear when we're talking and you're excited about something. And how you tease me by wearing it up, just so I'll take it down and run my fingers through it and we end up . . .you know. And how when I wash it for you in the kitchen sink . . . well, it usually leads to something else then too," he said with a shrug.

Elizabeth remained quiet and let him continue speaking.

"And how sometimes you sit on the edge of the bed and ask me to brush it for you. Those are nice times for us. They're romantic. I like them. They're just special. I'll miss them."

Elizabeth, still speechless, suddenly felt her eyes tear up. She knew what he meant. Those moments were often physically exciting, but they were also very tender and sweet.

"Don't worry, I'll get over it," Jack said nonchalantly as he turned down the kerosene lamp. "Like you said 'it's just hair'. I'll have to get used to thinking of it that way and forgetting about my silly sentimental romantic ideas."

Jack leaned over, gave Elizabeth a peck on the cheek, and then lay his head onto his pillow. "Good night," he said pleasantly.

Elizabeth lay on her side of the bed in the darkness. As she thought about what Jack had said, she felt soft sentimental tears fall from the corners of her eyes.

 _I am never cutting my hair_ , she decided with determination. _N_ e _ver!_

"Jack?" she whispered quietly five minutes later.

"Jack?"

"mmm", he mumbled sleepily.

"I'm not going to cut my hair," she whispered eagerly.

"If you say so", he murmured with his eyes still closed. "I love you either way. But I'm glad."

* * *

"What else is on your list?" Abigail asked as the two sat over a cup of afternoon tea the next day. Elizabeth had explained that after contemplating the idea more, she had decided not to sell her hair.

"Number two on the list is sell some of our things. You know how many wedding presents we got. We can't possibly need all that stuff."

"You might one day."

"Four soup tureens? Two ice buckets? Eighteen pairs of candlesticks? I don't think so," Elizabeth replied knowingly.

"What does Jack think of this plan?"

"I haven't told him yet, but I'm sure that he'll be fine with it. Especially when he sees how much money I make."

Elizabeth set down her tea cup and picked up a cookie. As she took a bite, she didn't notice the doubtful look in Abigail's eyes.

U **P NEXT: Chapter 76 Math Part 3 -THE SILVER LINING IN EVERY MISTAKE.**

 **Dear readers, Thanks for the reviews! I appreciate every one.**

 **Dear Susie T. (whose last name I adore!) and my Boston fan: I do write Out of this World and I will get back to that soon. I tend to go back and forth between my stories depending on what "unique" "crazy" situation I come up with. ㈴2. I have part three of this Math story-line to write and finish the scenario, and then I'll do the next chapter for our space couple. Thanks for your comments!**


	76. Chapter 76-Math Part 3-The Silver Lining

**CHAPTER 76 – Math Part 3-THE SILVER LINING IN EVERY MISTAKE**

The sun wasn't up yet but the small Thornton family had already started their day. Jack pulled his suspenders over his shoulders as he walked up the steps after a trip to the outhouse; he once again looked forward to finishing their new house which was going to have an inside bathroom. If the citizens of Hope Valley managed to behave themselves this week, he might just have time to finish putting up the outside walls.

Leaning against the doorframe to the bedroom, he took in the scene and smiled. Elizabeth, her long hair tied loosely in a messy braid, was sitting upright in bed with Jacklyn cradled in her arms. The kerosene lamp cast a warm golden glow over mother and daughter. Jack tried to capture the image in his mind so he could later recreate it with colored pencils on paper.

When Elizabeth looked up and noticed him grinning at her, she gave Jack a put-out look and pulled the bedsheet up higher so it covered the baby's face.

Jack chuckled. "Covering up your breasts isn't going to work. I'll still think about them," he said as he moved into the room. She watched as he put on his red serge jacket and buttoned it to the collar, and then ran a comb through his hair.

He sat down in the small wooden chair in the corner of the room and changed from his slip-on loafers to a pair of socks and then pulled on his tall leather boots before speaking again.

"I'm sorry that my first thought wasn't your hair. That I thought of your breasts when I thought of what I love about you that is soft and full. I love your hair too," he told her as he continued to grin. "I love a lot of things about you."

"Fine. You're forgiven," she conceded with her own smile. "I actually forgave you about an hour after you said it."

"I figured. Especially after last night," he said with a knowing grin.

It had been three days since Elizabeth had first thought of the need to earn extra money.

On Monday, she had emptied her wallet of three dollars – the total for twenty students, and one penny for Josiah, and she had the minor squabble with Jack over having accidentally promised away half her yearly salary.

On Tuesday, she had listened to the children talk about how much candy they had eaten, given Josiah two pennies, and she had the minor squabble with Jack over the idea of selling her hair.

On Wednesday, she had listened to her students complain about their candy being all gone, given Josiah four pennies, made an inventory of things to sell, and decided that the best way to avoid another squabble with Jack was to keep quiet about her plans.

"I'm going to just grab some bread and cheese and take off," Jack announced as he stood up from the chair.

"Wait a couple minutes and I'll make you some breakfast," Elizabeth offered. "She's almost finished."

"It's okay. I want to get going. It will be light by the time I saddle up at the livery and then I can start rounds. I want to go out to the eastern valley today. You okay if I don't stay and walk you to school?"

"We're fine."

"Do me favor today? Try not to give away your salary, or sell your hair, and if your students want to fall sleep in math class, let them," he said as he leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I'll see you for dinner."

"Love you," Elizabeth called out.

"Love you too," Jack's voice carried from the hall as he made his way downstairs.

* * *

"Do you think Jack wishes he had never talked to me when we first met?" Elizabeth asked as she dunked her tea bag into the cup one more time, before taking it out and placing it on the saucer. She was sitting in Abigail's kitchen before the breakfast crowd had arrived. When Elizabeth had gotten dressed and made her way downstairs to her own kitchen, she had looked around the empty space and decided that breakfast at Abigail's was in order.

Abigail choked on her own tea at Elizabeth's question and then smiled. "What is going on in your mind?"

Elizabeth sighed deeply, put her elbow on the table, and rested her pensive face in her hand.

"The first day we met, he came down the stairs of the Saloon and said, 'Constable Jack Thornton. I'm the new Mountie in town but I guess you've already gathered that.' He shook my hand in a nice friendly way and teased me about not getting chalk dust on his hand. He said he felt cheated that he didn't get any. Poor guy probably never knew that he had just sealed his fate."

"Sealed his fate?", Abigail laughed.

"If he had just walked past me, maybe ignored me, not tried to be friendly, maybe we never would have become friends. And then infatuated with each other. And then in love with each other. And then married."

"And had an incredibly beautiful baby named after him," Abigail reminded her with a nod towards the baby sitting on Elizabeth's lap.

Elizabeth kissed her daughter's head. "She is wonderful. Jack thought about naming her after me but I talked him out of it. I didn't think he could handle two Elizabeths."

"You're probably right," Abigail remarked with a chuckle. "What's this all about?"

"Sometimes I feel sorry for Jack," Elizabeth said with another sigh.

"Sorry for him? Why would you feel sorry for him? He loves being married to you."

"Nothing is probably anything like he imagined when he became a Mountie and then came to Coal Valley. If he had to have picked a wife back then, well, I doubt he even would have picked a wife. He used to say Mounties don't marry. But if he had to, I doubt he ever would have picked someone like me."

"Why do you say that?"

"We come from such different lifestyles. I make everything so complicated. He just wanted to be a Mountie and live a life of adventure and somehow he ended up married to me."

Abigail laughed. "Well then he got exactly what he wanted."

* * *

 _What does Jack want_? Elizabeth thought as she walked to school _. He wants a nice wife and mother to his children – lots of children one day - who loves him. A wife who cooks him breakfast no matter how early he has to go to work in the morning. A wife who doesn't keep getting herself in predicaments. That's what any man would want. A wife who keeps her hair on her head._

 _I will calmly sell a few belongings and not even bother him with it. I'll simply earn the money and give it to him one day. I'll become a perfect gentile housewife. Calm. Professional at school. Wifely at home. No more shenanigans. No more crazy ideas._

* * *

"Jack, Jack!" Elizabeth opened the door to the Mountie office nine hours later and saw him sitting at his desk. "I've been all over town. You'll never believe what I've discovered!"

Jack looked at the clock on his wall which indicated that it was almost five o'clock, leaned back in his desk chair, and smiled at his enthusiastic wife. "Elizabeth, Elizabeth, what have you discovered?" he asked humorously as she rushed towards him, jostling Jacklyn in her arms.

Jack's eyes picked up on a small yellowish stain on the baby's normally clean white jumper and that it was wet in places, as if she had been splashing in water - which made no sense to him. Her hair, which was starting to grow long enough for soft curls, was slightly ruffled but she looked especially chipper at this time of the day. Which for some reason made Jack worry that his daughter was going to have Elizabeth's zest for adventure.

"A con game. A conspiracy. A fraud. Swindling. Deception. Counterfeiting. A Racket!" Elizabeth announced with her eyes wide in excitement.

Jack chuckled. "Sounds more like you've discovered a thesaurus."

"Hush! Do you want to hear how your brilliant daughter and I have discovered a crime or not?"

"Jacklyn - who has finally been able to roll from her back to her front – twice - has discovered a crime?" he asked skeptically and with a grin.

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows at her husband. "She rolled over three more times today for your information."

"She's a regular acrobat," Jack said humorously. "So, tell me about this crime you two discovered. Although, I think she's the baby, you're the teacher, and _I'm_ supposed to be the crime-solver in the family."

"It's now a family thing. Wait until you hear what we discovered!"

Jack smiled and continued to lean back in a relaxed position. He had to admit that she was now peaking his curiosity.

"Someone is selling counterfeit silver in Bridgewater," Elizabeth said smugly as she sat down in the chair across from Jack. "And you're going to arrest them."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Jack had a pensive look on his face as he tried to digest everything she had told him. Her story had been a bit convoluted because she had thrown in details which he suspected weren't important such as what Mrs. Denvens was making for dinner and that Jacklyn had lost a sock somewhere in town. But still, she actually seemed to have stumbled upon something criminal.

"Let me get this straight. You were at the Denvens house looking at a piece of jewelry that Tom Denvens bought his wife –"

"When he was in Bridgewater", Elizabeth interrupted to remind him of that detail.

Jack nodded to acknowledge the apparently important fact of Bridgewater, a town three times the size of Hope Valley which was a five- hour ride by horse, and then he continued. "While you looking at the jewelry, Jacklyn dropped a candlestick that Tom also bought in Bridgewater and you didn't like the way it sounded so you did some kind of experiments on it –"

"And on the brooch", Elizabeth interrupted again.

"And on the brooch. You discovered that they weren't real silver even though that's what Tom was told when he bought them."

"Right! The man in Bridgewater also told Scott Fischer the same thing when he convinced him to buy something for his wife."

"Why were you at the Denvens house in the first place?" a perplexed Jack asked.

"Um. Okay, that's not really important," Elizabeth answered as she waved away his question.

"Tell me anyway." His voice carried the calm and authoritative tone honed from his years in law enforcement.

"Fine, but it's not important. I offered to sell to Margaret some things to make some money. She started bragging about her husband buying her some pieces in Bridgewater but when she described them to me the price seemed too low for silver but way too high for other kinds of metal. And when she showed them to me, Jacklyn and I discovered that they were fakes."

"You were trying to sell our belongings?!" a wide-eyed Jack exclaimed. His voice now carried the unsettled and bewildered tone which had become more and more common since he had first met Elizabeth.

"Just a few, but then –"

"Selling our belongings?" Jack interrupted again as if he couldn't comprehend what she had said.

"You're missing the point", Elizabeth said dismissively. "The point is -"

"Which belongings?"

"Some unimportant wedding gifts. Now listen, it was –"

"Our wedding gifts? Things people gave us to celebrate our marriage. You wanted to sell them?"

"Jack, would you please pay attention. I was selling some wedding gifts which we didn't need to earn money and I –"

"Like a peddler or a poor widow who needs to keep a roof over her head?" a confused Jack interjected.

"Okay. You need to stop focusing on me trying to sell things."

"But we have money! We're not poor!"

"For Pete's sake, forget about money and wedding gifts and concentrate. I'm trying to explain something important to you."

"Okay. I will temporarily ignore the fact that my wife is trying to sell things that don't need to be sold," he said with a shake of his head. "Continue with whatever your point is."

"The point is that I used math and science to solve a crime for you. It's a good thing that you're married to a teacher! I was able to crack a counterfeit ring using the five M's for silver. Actually, I only used four."

"Yeah, explain those to me again," he prodded.

"Number one - Magnet," Elizabeth remarked as she put out one finger and held it with the other hand in a counting motion. "But we didn't have a magnet so we skipped that test. But I'm sure it would have stuck to the items because they were fake. They weren't real silver."

"Because magnets aren't attracted to silver."

Elizabeth nodded in affirmation before quickly continuing with her second finger. "Music- because when silver is hit it makes a musical high pitched sharp ringing sound. But when Jacklyn picked up the candlestick and dropped it, it made a dull thud. Actually, she banged it on the table a few times first but I wasn't really paying attention until she dropped it. We pinged it a couple times and just got dull sounds. So, then we put mustard on it."

Jack put his hand on his forehead in disbelief, and then realized why Jacklyn's jumper had a yellow stain. _Mustard. Of course_ , he thought with a befuddled laugh. _I should have realized immediately that a yellow spot was mustard and that my baby daughter who can't eat solid food yet wouldn't have mustard on her clothes from food but from a science experiment._ "Mustard."

"Yes. Because mustard will tarnish silver. But it _didn't_ tarnish this stuff. But Margaret didn't have any mustard because her husband doesn't care for it, so we had to borrow some from one of the neighbors," Elizabeth explained as if Jack would want to know that fact. "Then we did the melting – that's the fourth M."

"Because silver will melt ice much faster than any other room temperature object will melt it," Jack said pensively as he remembered his science classes and thermal energy.

"Exactly. And this stuff didn't. There was just one more test and that's my favorite. Math!"

"Math?"

"Archimedes!" Elizabeth exclaimed which such a flourish it was as if she was announcing "Ta da" or "Voila'" at the end of a great magical feat rather than simply saying the name of an ancient Greek mathematician.

"Archimedes?"

Jack realized that he was once again just repeating his wife's statements but at this point, he couldn't think of anything else to say. He was still trying to wrap his brain around the fact that she was trying to sell their belongings.

"Archimedes principle!"

"I assume that you're not talking about a young Greek student's school leader," he said with a smirk.

Elizabeth ignored his teasing as she continued to explain her afternoon. "Archimedes principle that when an object is dropped into water, some of that water is displaced, and buoyance pushes on the object changing its weight. We weighed the candlestick using Mr. Yost's postage scale, then we dropped it in water to see how much water was displaced. Then we divided the numbers to get the density. The density for silver is about 10.5 – I had to look that up in one of my old science books."

"So the water on Jacklyn's jumper is from an experiment."

"What water?" Elizabeth said in surprise until she looked more closely at her daughter. "Oh, she was splashing a bit. No harm."

"What did Mr. Yost say when you used his postage scale?" Jack asked curiously.

Elizabeth waved away the question. "I don't remember. Everyone was so interested in what we were doing," she said happily.

"Everyone? I thought it was you and Margaret Denvens."

"Along the way we picked up some students. Josiah says he's going to definitely study science in college. And the younger children were fascinated by the displaced water and mustard. It was like a class field trip! An impromptu class field trip. Only it was after class. I love teaching. And Hazel Fisher was there, as well as Judith Seltser, from whom we borrowed the mustard."

Elizabeth stopped speaking to catch her breath. To describe her as excited and pleased with her afternoon was an understatement. She had enthralled her students with math and science, spent time with her daughter, and managed to discover a crime for her husband to handle. All at the same time.

Jack looked at her in amazement. "You did all that this afternoon?"

"Yes!" Elizabeth proudly replied. She leaned back in her chair and relaxed with a smile on her face.

"I'm guessing that you didn't make dinner," he said with a slight frown.

* * *

Twenty minutes, the Thornton family leaned back in their Café chairs to allow Clara to set down two steaming bowls of stew. As soon as the young woman had moved away, Elizabeth continued talking.

"You have to go to Bridgewater or send a telegram to someone there. Mr. Denvens and Mr. Fischer got conned. They thought that they were buying real silver. And they both said that the store where they got the stuff was really popular. Lots of people shop there. Someone has to stop the counterfeiter. Also, I want you to talk to Mrs. Hudson. I think she was there a few weeks ago visiting her sister. Maybe someone tried to sell her or her husband something. We can't let our community get swindled."

Jack reached across the table. Placing his hand on Elizabeth's to calm her excitement. "I will handle it. You've done enough crime solving for today."

By the time dinner was over, Jack wasn't sure what bothered him more. The fact that he had to go out of town to investigate which would delay working on their new home. Or that fact that he oddly found Elizabeth's crime-solving abilities and enthusiasm to be a turn on.

* * *

Elizabeth had willingly agreed to let Jack handle the criminal investigation not just because he was the trained Mountie but because she had no time to get more involved. Not only was she writing more stories in the hopes of selling them to a publisher – that had been the third idea on her list of ways to make money, but her students, who watched with envy as Elizabeth continued to give money to Josiah, were now demanding a math or science lesson every day. In the week since Elizabeth had discovered the silver counterfeiters and Jack had gone out of town to investigate, she had managed to entertain her classroom of boys and girls with a new experiment every day.

"That's it class. Let's clean up and get back inside to write your reports," she called out as she looked around at the students sitting outside on grass.

"Everyone, brush the cornstarch off of you before you go into the school," she instructed. "And let's try to look presentable when you get to your homes today. I'd prefer not to get any more notes from your parents asking why I let you get so disheveled."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Elizabeth rang the cow bell to signify the end of the school day and watched as the students scurried down the building's steps and towards their homes. She smiled when she saw Jack walking towards her.

"Jack", she greeted him pleasantly. "You've got Jacklyn."

"I picked her up from Abigail. I thought she should be here when you get the good news. Especially because you two are a team."

"What good news?" Elizabeth asked curiously as she gave her daughter a kiss. She had missed the little girl, whom she had dropped off at Abigail's at the end of the lunch hour. Jacklyn was sleeping less in the afternoons and Elizabeth was grateful that her best friend had offered to watch the baby so Elizabeth could concentrate on the students while Abigail enjoyed acting as a surrogate aunt.

"Open this" Jack said with a smile as he handed Elizabeth an envelope with a telegram inside. "It was addressed to you but I already read it."

Elizabeth eyed Jack suspiciously as she took out the slip of paper and unfolded it.

"Jack! It's from Canadian Ladies Journal. They want me to write a story about the counterfeiters! They read about it in the Calgary Times. They'll pay me $40!" Elizabeth exclaimed as she read the typed words. "They'll publish it in their monthly magazine!"

"That's not all. Read this one," Jack said as he handed her another envelope. Elizabeth looked at the return address label and noticed it was from Mountie Headquarters for the Northwest Mounties.

"What is it?" she asked hesitantly.

"Just read it."

Elizabeth pulled out the paper and quickly scanned it. "You're getting a letter of commendation for handling the counterfeiting investigation!"

"I am," he replied with a grin. "Your initial discovery and my investigation in Bridgewater and Immonstown and then Calgary was quite the coup."

"I'm so happy!" Elizabeth replied giddily as she bounced up and down.

"Jacklyn has one more surprise for you", Jack said as he gently pulled an envelope from his daughter's tight grasp. She had stuffed one end of it into her mouth. He frowned slightly at the wet envelope and handed it over to Elizabeth.

"It's from Western Union", she said as she looked at the envelope. Jack just nodded as he waited for her reaction.

"Oh my gosh", she gasped. She looked from the contents of the envelope and then to Jack who was grinning. "This can't be," she said in shock.

"It is. Four hundred dollars." Jack couldn't stop grinning. "It seems that the silver makers and jewelry store owners were quite pleased with you. Remember how I told you that when I was in Calgary I found out that they had suspected there was a counterfeiting ring but had no idea how or from where it originated? Your discovery of Bridgewater as the center of the operation was key. The craftsmen and shop proprietors had taken up a collection for a reward. I can't accept it because I'm a government official but they decided there was no reason that you couldn't accept it."

Jack started laughing as a gob-stopped and speechless Elizabeth stood there staring at him.

* * *

"Jack, do you regret anything about marrying me?" Elizabeth asked casually as she dried the last dinner plate and put it back in the cupboard. She had made a chicken for dinner but had been so busy thinking about the three envelopes that she had overcooked it. After dumping the inedible meal in the trash bin, she had quickly scrambled some eggs mixed with cream and butter as a replacement. As he had hungrily eaten them, Jack had said that even Sherlock Holmes couldn't make eggs as good.

"Only that I didn't do it sooner," he responded nonchalantly as he took a sip of tea from his mug and set it on the table and out of reach of the arms of Jacklyn who was sitting on his lap. "Why do you ask?"

"Because I know that you never intended to come to Hope Valley and end up with a family. Especially with a wife who comes from such a different background as you."

"Too late to do anything about it now," he said with a shrug. "I've kind of gotten use to the two of you. Besides you're good for me financially. You spent just over three hundred dollars on your class, but you made over four hundred. I consider that a good investment."

"Thanks. I'm glad to see the love," she said sarcastically at his teasing.

"Oh, it's love you want?" he said with a twinkle in his eye. "In that case, you have a choice."

"A choice?" Elizabeth gave him a curious look as she sat down at the table.

"It's math."

"I like math," she readily admitted.

"I will give you fifteen kisses tonight, or –" Jack paused for emphasis.

"Or?" Elizabeth giggled.

"I will give you one kiss tonight, two tomorrow, four the night after that, and continue doubling them every night for fifteen nights."

"Hmm. I do like instant gratification," she said pensively as she weighed her choices. "And I do like your kisses. Do I get to decide how long the kiss is if I choose just one kiss tonight, and then the doubling?"

"Most definitely."

"Then I will choose one tonight and double the number every night for fifteen nights."

"That was a very wise choice, Mrs. Thornton," Jack said in a voice which made Elizabeth's body tingle as he stood up and put Jacklyn in her bassinet before focusing his attention on her. "You are an excellent mathematician. How long will this kiss be?" he asked in a deep voice as he leaned his face towards hers.

"I'll let know in the morning," she whispered.

 **Dear Joyce C and all my other readers: I hope you like it!**


	77. Chapter 77- Educating Elizabeth Part 1

**EDUCATING ELIZABETH -PART 1 FISHING**

After a few weeks of concentrating on math and science lessons in school, Elizabeth had enough. Even if her students hadn't felt overloaded with numbers and symbols, Elizabeth found herself desperately missing her favorite subject.

"If I never see another math problem, I will be happy," Elizabeth said as she carried dirty plates to the sink. "The students are so inquisitive about arithmetic and science ever since that whole money-making penny-doubling drama and the silver substitute scandal."

"You're certainly into alliteration today," Jack observed with a humorous smirk as he finished his coffee and brought the mug to the counter.

"I miss words. Long dramatic sentences full of adjectives and adverbs. Similes and metaphors. Adventure and emotion. Epic sagas. Poetry. Haikus on Nature."

"Math word problems not doing it for you?" he teased.

"Not in the least. I know I should be happy that the students are interested in arithmetic and chemistry but every time I try to move onto literature, they whine that they want to do another experiment."

Jack picked up his daughter from her blanket on the floor, and then leaned against the table while he watched Elizabeth pump water into the basin.

"Let's go fishing," he announced enthusiastically. He ruffled his daughter's hair as he held the little girl in his arms. "This little one wants to learn how to fish."

"She's not even a year old and has no idea what a real fish looks like," Elizabeth chuckled as she began to wash the breakfast dishes.

"It's beautiful outside. Come on, what do you say?"

"I've got papers to grade, meals to prepare, diapers to wash," Elizabeth responded as she turned her head and looked over her shoulder at her husband.

"I'll finish the dishes while you do the laundry, I'll cook the fish we catch, and you can grade papers tonight while I give Jacklyn a bath."

"I thought you were going to work on the house today."

"I was. But, I'd rather spend the morning with my two favorite girls."

Elizabeth paused with her hands in the sink of water. "You really want to go fishing?"

"Yeah. The weather's gorgeous. I haven't been in ages. It will be a nice date for us. Just the three of us. You, me, and the baby. Enjoying the quiet peacefulness of nature. We can bring a big blanket and take a nap. You can read a book. Catch up on your 'epic sagas' and poetry. I can sketch. No more thinking about your students for you and no more thinking about law enforcement for me. It will be a vacation for us."

* * *

"Do you think most vacations involve splashing and screaming children throwing frogs and lily pads at each other?" Elizabeth pensively asked an hour later as she looked at the scene in front of her.

"Nah. Not unless they're in hell."

Elizabeth and Jack were sitting on a blanket which they had laid down by the edge of the pond. Fifteen minutes after their arrival, a group of six children – laughing and skipping – came running towards the water. They had swung metal pails in the hands and sat down about twenty feet from the Thornton family. Within two minutes, another three children carrying butterfly nets had joined them.

Now all nine children were knee-deep in the pond and yelling loudly at one another in glee and disgust as they lobbed algae, tad poles, and whatever else they could grasp in their wet hands.

"We could move farther away from them?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Like to Hamilton?" Jack said dryly.

Elizabeth smiled and slapped his arm gently. "It's not so bad. Why don't we gather our stuff and go to the homesite?"

"Because there's no pond there. Which means no fishing. Which means no fresh fish for lunch or dinner."

"There's no fishing here either," Elizabeth observed as she looked at Jack's line which dangled in the water.

It was obvious that any aquatic life had swam away as fast as possible when the children had arrived. It was also obvious that no number of worms on Jack's fishing rod would entice the fish back.

"They're getting a little crazy out there," Jack noted with a bit of concern in his voice as he observed some of the children getting onto the shoulders of others.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, the family made their way back to the row house. Puddles formed behind Jack as water dripped off of his clothing. His shoes made a squelching sound with each step he took.

"Toss your clothes on the floor. I'll hang them up by the stove," Elizabeth instructed. "On second thought, toss them on the floor and I'll wash them now," she told him as she noticed the green slime of algae clinging to his pants and shirt.

The family kitten, Sweet Potato Pie, jumped off a kitchen chair and began pawing and nibbling at Jack's pants legs until she had captured a minnow stuck in one of the water-logged cuffs. "For Pete's sakes", Jack growled.

"Scoot". Elizabeth nudged the kitten away, set Little Jack on the floor away from the stove, and then picked up a small log. After opening the stove door, she lightly tossed the wood inside, watching the fire glow around it before she put another log in with it to quickly warm the house.

Jack stripped off every article of clothing, muttered disgust at the situation, and made his way upstairs as his feet left wet footprints across the wood floor.

* * *

"Who was that kid I rescued?" Jack asked when he came downstairs wearing a dry set of clothing.

He pulled his suspenders over his shoulders and took a cup from the cupboard. Leaning his backside against the counter, he waited for the tea kettle on the stove to whistle.

"He moved here last month. His name's Walter, but the students call him Jinx," Elizabeth answered.

"I'm beginning to see why. Is he always so clumsy?"

"Unfortunately, yes. Not just clumsy but bad things always seem to happen when he's around."

"What kind of things? Other than almost drowning."

"Just stuff," Elizabeth answered.

She tossed a freshly washed sock into a metal tub with the other now clean clothes waiting to be taken outside and hung on the line before continuing.

"For example, yesterday all the kids were running outside for recess, and Walter was a little slower because he had to finish his spelling paper. The second he got outside, the sun went behind the clouds and it started to rain."

"That was a just a quick shower yesterday. Mother Nature. You always say she doesn't play by the rules." Jack noted. "They can't blame him for that."

"You know children. They blamed him. Especially after the inkwell incident."

"The inkwell incident? You make it sound like a criminal caper. What was the ' _inkwell incident'_?" Jack said with a chuckle as he put a teabag into his cup. He took the kettle off the hot stove when it began to whistle and poured the water. "You want a cup?"

"No thanks," Elizabeth said with a shake of her head. "Barbara-Mae was carrying an inkwell and when Walter offered to help, he accidently knocked it all over her blouse. I had to send her home to change. When Walter tried to help clean up the mess, he ended up just smearing ink on the floor and Peter slipped and fell. Poor Walter. He's having a hard time fitting in with the other students."

"I can't say he's my favorite after I had to jump in the pond and save him," Jack grumbled.

Elizabeth smiled. "He's like a fish out of water."

"How so?"

"He's just not as cultured as the other children."

Jack choked on his tea at her statement. He wiped his mouth and gave her a humorous look. "Cultured? Your students cultured? By whose definition? Because by my definition, they are the farthest thing from cultured."

"Just what is that supposed to mean?" an insulted Elizabeth objected.

"Half the time they don't wear shoes in the school –"

"That's only when it gets really hot!"

"They consider lice a visiting relative."

"That's not true!" Elizabeth retorted. "Twice. Twice we had lice in the school. And that was months ago."

"They think the woman's suffrage movement is the woman's _suffering_ movement."

"Women are suffering without the right to vote. That is a very easy mistake for my students to make",  
Elizabeth said with a huff.

"They thought Moby Dick was – well, I'm not going to even say what they thought it was about," Jack chuckled. "So tell me how this new boy is less cultured than the fine students of Hope Valley."

* * *

As Elizabeth chopped up some potatoes and onions to make a fish-less lunch before Jack headed to the homesite, she told Jack more about Walter, to include the scent of his family's goats which seemed to be a part of his clothing, his love for all animals, and that he was barely literate. At ten years old, he was still only reading at a first-grade level, the same as his parents. Elizabeth was determined he would surpass that.

"He's a bit like Dickon from a book I read just before I moved to Hope Valley. At least the animal part of him," Elizabeth realized aloud as a story came back to her.

"It was a book that had just been published when I was at Teacher's college," she continued. She paused with the knife in her hand. "We all read it and talked about how it was a good book for children. That's it! I need to read it to my students! I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier! Forget math and science, we're moving on to literature."

"So, this Dickon character is a jinx?" Jack asked.

"No. Not at all." Elizabeth answered. She set aside the knife and picked up some eggs. Cracking them into a bowl, she began scrambling them. "But he's a wonder with animals. He's basically the hero of the story. I'll just have to re-read it because I don't remember everything, and then I'll read it to the students."

* * *

Elizabeth gave up trying to grade papers or read "The Secret Garden", which Jack – back from the home site after four hours of sawing, hammering, and sanding -had found in a crate of Elizabeth's things that had been stowed in the attic.

It turned out that Jack's offer to give Jacklyn a bath hadn't been approved by the little girl who decided to be especially vocal and physically agile.

Jack's masculine hands which were adept at handling weapons, campfires, and horse reins, were no match for his little daughter's squirmy, slippery body. Elizabeth handed a washcloth to Jack, who jerked back as Jacklyn kicked a spray of water into his face.

Between splashes of water, gleeful screams, the dog chasing the cat around the kitchen, and laundry that needed to be folded, Jack managed to tell Elizabeth about an investigation in a nearby town, that he had ordered the windows for the new home, and that his parents were thinking of coming for a visit. Elizabeth told Jack about a small lynx she had seen outside the school house, that she ordered a new dress for herself, and that she thought maybe his parents should wait until the house was finished before visiting.

* * *

"I'm hope you weren't planning on getting too amorous tonight", Jack said. He sat on the edge of the mattress and took off his slippers. "I'm exhausted."

"Right back at you, babe." Elizabeth responded with a smile. She pulled back the covers and crawled into bed. "I don't plan on doing anything but sleeping."

Jack frowned. "Darn, I was kind of hoping you had some energy left in you."

"What for?" Elizabeth asked with a curious crinkling of her brows.

"A shoulder rub," he pleaded as he plopped his head onto his pillow and turned his back to her. "My right one."

"I give you a non-amorous shoulder rub while you fall asleep on me?"

"It's a _really_ big house I'm building for us," he reminded her in pathetic attempt for sympathy.

Elizabeth smiled and lowered the wick on the kerosene lamp, plunging the room into darkness. "How big?"

"Planks and planks of wooden floors. And walls. Lots of walls. Each room needs a wall," he yawned. "And a floor."

"I suppose that's true. A room should have walls and a floor," she replied as she scooched her body across the mattress.

"And ceilings," Jack mumbled as he closed his eyes. "Each room gets a ceiling. But I haven't gotten to them yet."

"Ceilings are good." Elizabeth smiled and put her hands on Jack's aching body.

"And doorways. I'm giving you a doorway to get into each room," he added as he relaxed into the mattress.

"Well, thank you. That's very sweet of you."

"Only the best for my wife," he said sleepily. "A little more to the right."

Elizabeth moved her fingers over half an inch and renewed making small circular movements. Pressing her hands into his sore muscle. "I'm getting floors, walls, ceilings, and doorways. Be still my heart. It almost sounds like a house."

"That feels nice. Thanks," he murmured, enjoying the feeling of her fingers kneading his shoulder while he allowed himself to totally succumb to rest.

Jack's soft steady breathing let Elizabeth know when he had fallen asleep. She moved onto her side of the bed and lay her head onto her pillow.

Within two minutes, she was fast asleep.

All in all, it wasn't one of their most romantic days or nights, but they had shared plenty of romantic days and nights in the past. Forgetting about romance for one night wasn't going to ruin their marriage.

But as they would soon discover, there are three things that should never be taken lightly or ignored: romance, science, and math.

Only remembering one or two and forgetting about the third can lead to unexpected results.

 **UP NEXT: Chapter 78**

P.S. If any of you readers also read my story "Out of this World", you'll remember two weeks ago, I wrote about a Chinese space lab bombarding Elizabeth and Jack's transporter with debris. Check out today's real-life news: Chinese space lab debris is falling towards Earth this week! For real!


	78. Chapter 78 Educating Elizabeth part 2

**EDUCATING ELIZABETH - PART 2- POETRY IN MOTION**

Elizabeth discovered that getting her students to see the similarities between newcomer Walter and the character of Dickon from "The Secret Garden" was going to take a while. Until then, Walter appeared destined to be considered the school's bad luck charm.

During reading time, the students had sat mesmerized while Elizabeth had read to them about the disagreeable ugly nine-year old Mary Lennox who had been orphaned overnight and left alone in her opulent bedroom while her parents, party-goers, and the household servants lay dead.

When Elizabeth had closed the novel after chapter one, the students had eagerly raised their young hands and asked question after question. About India. About British Colonies. About Cholera.

Now as they played in the fields surrounding the school house and jumped rope while chanting rhymes, Elizabeth watched as Walter walked past two girls who promptly tripped over their ropes and fell in the dirt. A second later, one of the girls lifted her head from the ground and yelled "Jinx" at the hapless boy.

Elizabeth quickly flipped through the book which was still in her hands and then frowned.

 _How could I forget that Dickon doesn't appear until chapter ten. Chapter ten!_

* * *

Five days later, Elizabeth finally got to chapter ten by doubling up and reading two chapters a day. The children had stopped asking for math and science lessons and had finally given in to their teacher's newest proclivity for extra lessons of literature.

Unfortunately, Walter continued to be followed by bad luck which affected the entire school. When Elizabeth walked into the jail after class one day and handed a purple-splattered daughter to Jack, he didn't have to ask who was responsible.

"Do I want to ask?"

"No."

"Okay. I need to know. What happened?" he asked as his curiosity got the better of him. His daughter's brown hair was the only thing about her that hadn't been discolored. Unconcerned with the state of her clothing, she gleefully reached out her hands to grab his face.

"Walter put a jar of eggs in beet juice and vinegar on the top shelf of the school. For his lunch. As I was getting down my basket of cloth diapers, I knocked it over by accident. The lid was loose and the juice fell down."

"And you were holding Jacklyn", Jack finished for her.

"Right. Now you have a pickled daughter. Her outfit is ruined."

Jack licked his fingers and rubbed them on his daughter's soft and normally pale cheeks. "It's not coming off." He looked at Elizabeth with concern.

Elizabeth peered over Jack's shoulder at the baby. "She looks a bit like purple spotted Dalmatian puppy. Just imagine what your ma will say when she comes for a visit."

* * *

"All clean. And the folks aren't coming for weeks," Jack announced as he walked around the kitchen carrying Jacklyn. The little girl was bundled up in soft cotton towels after a warm bath in the kitchen sink.

The Thornton home was warm and cozy and the aroma of dinner filled the air. These were the times that Elizabeth and Jack both liked best. When it was the three of them after a day of work. Being a family.

"Who was bullying Walter?" Jack asked.

Elizabeth put her oven mitts on, opened the oven door, and tested the chicken. She had just explained about her day at the school which included some heated language between the students.

"All of them consider him a jinx, but the palindrome sisters are the chief bullies."

"The what?"

"The palindrome sisters. Hannah and Eve."

When Jack stared blankly at her, Elizabeth continued. "Their names are spelled the same backwards and forwards", she explained as if the answer was obvious. "Hannah and Eve are both palindromes."

Jack's gave her one of those looks – the one where he wondered if there was anyone else in the world who saw things the same way she did. "Do you think it's just coincidence? I doubt the parents planned it."

"Doubt they planned their names? Of course, they planned their names. They named them."

"No. I mean that I doubt they planned them to be palindromes. It's probably just coincidence that both their names are the same backwards and forwards."

"Nope. It's planned," she answered with confidence as she closed the oven door. "Dinner's in ten minutes. They call their mother mom. They call their father dad. They have a baby sister named Ava, and a dog named Bob. They're just a family of palindromes," she said with a shrug.

Jack chuckled and shook his head. "Your mind works in the most unusual way."

"That's why you love me," she responded with a smile while she took some plates from the cupboard and began setting the table.

* * *

Elizabeth put a few spoonfuls of smooshed cooked peas in front of little Jacklyn and passed the bowl to Jack.

"We're having mushy peas?" he asked in disgust as he took the bowl.

"You should like them. They're an Irish tradition," Elizabeth noted pleasantly. She picked up her fork and began eating.

"So is Irish Whiskey but I don't seem to ever get that," he noted as he looked around the table.

Elizabeth smiled. "Hush and eat."

"Did you at least put butter on them?"

"No. I don't want her having that yet. We need to start simple."

"Why do _we_ have to eat what _she_ eats?"

"Because she puts her fingers it anyway. She tries to grab whatever we are eating. It's just easier if I give in and let her grab our food. It has to be something simple for her."

"So, she's less than a year old and she's already in charge. Happened a little faster than I predicted," Jack said with a thoughtful frown.

Elizabeth smiled. "She's been in charge of my sleep schedule says the day she was born. It was only a matter of time until she started taking over everything."

* * *

Elizabeth decided that being in charge of a classroom was perhaps the hardest occupation.

After weeks of Walter not fitting in with the other students despite Elizabeth's strong hints that he was similar to the character Dickon, she had finally decided that a "show and tell" related to "The Secret Garden" might drive home the point. Of course, she had come up with that idea without fully considering the wild imaginations and enthusiasm of her students.

It has started innocently enough. One of the children had brought in her pet rabbit because there had been a rabbit in the novel.

Another child had played the flute the way Dickon could mesmerize the animals. Although, by the way the hare was reacting, Elizabeth had a pretty good idea that the character in the novel played tunes much better than her student did.

Eleven-year old Hazel had the most colorful of showings. She arrived with an armful of flowers and happily passed out several stems full of petals to each child.

"These are lovely. And there are so many", Elizabeth said in awe as she fingered the petal of large white flower. _"_ Did you get them all from your garden?"

"Nope," the little girl shook her head. "I took them Mrs. Pensfield's garden. She sleeps in late so she don't even know yet. I got every one!" the girl added proudly.

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth had instructed Hazel on how to write a proper apology note for theft, assured the class that Mountie Jack would not arrest anyone for garden stealing, and found jars of water for the flowers.

"Joseph, it's your turn. What did you bring?"

The ten-year old boy smiled as he retrieved his project from the floor by the coat-hooks.

"Oh my", Elizabeth said hesitantly.

"That's . . .um . . .quite a project. . . What exactly is it?" Elizabeth asked as she looked at the two-foot high sculpture of bread mixed with what appeared to be chopped chicken liver.

"I made something that Mary Lennox would have seen in India. It's the Sphinx!" the boy exclaimed proudly.

"The Sphinx is in Egypt," Elizabeth corrected him as she wrinkled her nose at the smell of the liver.

"Really?"

"Really. But you've made a very interesting project. When we study Egypt, you can make the Taj Mahal", she muttered. Now, let's move on to the next project. Walter, you're up next."

"My project's outside," the boy said as he stood up.

"Well go on and get it," she encouraged him with a smile and a movement of her hands.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Elizabeth slumped in her desk chair fully acknowledging that some days of teaching were harder than others. Her smile had evaporated pretty quickly when Walter had come inside with his "show and tell" items.

After managing to corral the children from the woods and fields to which they had run, they had all returned to the school to find it in the process of being ransacked.

After managing to corral the children for the second time when they had run away again, this time screaming in fear, Elizabeth had given up and just sent them all home.

"What happened?!" Jack asked in alarm as he looked around the classroom with its turned-over pews and papers littering the floor.

"It was the lynx", she said with a sigh.

"It was the Jinx? I know you said he was clumsy, but geez, this place is a mess."

"No, a _lynx._ "

"A lynx?"

"Yes. In the classroom. I told you the other day that I saw one around the building," Elizabeth said with an incredulous shake of her head. She was still finding it difficult to comprehend the afternoon.

"A lynx – a bobcat -was in the classroom?"

"Yes," she repeated. "A Canadian lynx."

"Not the Jinx?"

"No, not the Jinx," she reiterated. "He had already left."

Jack looked around the room. He did a double-take and bent down when he thought he saw chunks of bread and chopped chicken liver under Elizabeth's desk. _What the heck?_

"Where was the jinx?" a puzzled Jack asked as he touched the food and determined it was indeed chopped chicken liver.

"He ran after the hare," Elizabeth replied.

"Whose hair?"

"Ginny Waples."

"Was she wearing it in braids or a pony tail?" Jack asked thoughtfully. His investigative mind quickly at work.

"What are you talking about?" Elizabeth's brows crinkled in confusion.

"Was Ginny wearing her hair in braids or a pony tail?" Jack asked as he motioned with his hands.

Elizabeth narrowed her eyes and gave him a look of disgust so he continued to speak. "In case it makes a difference. I'm just wondering why Jinx was chasing it."

"Not her hair! A hare! A rabbit!" an exasperated Elizabeth exclaimed.

"Oh, that makes more sense. Sort of. . . . . Okay, not really," he admitted. "You had a rabbit in the classroom? Why?"

"Because there's a rabbit in The Secret Garden."

"Who has a secret garden and why is it a secret?"

"The book!" Elizabeth yelled in frustration. This whole afternoon had been a disaster.

"Oh, right. Forgot about that," Jack said after flinching from his wife's attitude.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to yell at you. The rabbit took off running when it got spooked," Elizabeth explained with a sigh.

"When it got spooked by the lynx?"

"No, the jinx."

"The jinx got spooked by the lynx?" Jack questioned.

"No! The rabbit got scared by the jinx!" Elizabeth said as she tried to maintain her cool but hopelessly failed.

"Why did the rabbit get spooked by the jinx?"

"It was the minks he was holding," Elizabeth answered. She got out of her chair and began picking up papers scattered on the floor.

"The minks?"

"Jinx – I mean Walter. Now the children have me calling him Jinx", she said with a shake of her head. "Walter was carrying some baby minks he found. I told you that he was good with animals. They lunged for the rabbit – which was a just a cute funny little bunny - that Ginny brought in. The rabbit ran around the room being chased by the minks. Walter ran after the minks. The children screamed and stood on the pews or tried to catch the rabbit."

"But where'd the lynx come from?"

"Eventually, the rabbit hopped out the door which Walter had left open. The minks ran after it, and the students followed. When we were all away from the building, the lynx ran into the school."

"Why?"

"It must have smelled the Sphinx."

"The Sphinx?" a befuddled Jack asked. "In Egypt?"

"No. It's now in India," Elizabeth said with a shake of her head. "Obviously, I need to work on geography lessons."

Jack looked around the room in a daze. "What the heck," he muttered aloud this time as his eyes took in the mess.

"The whole place was a zoo!" Elizabeth said as she threw up her hands in emphasis.

Jack shook his head to clear it of confusion.

He tried to ignore the fact that Sphinx had moved from Egypt to India and was now somehow responsible for the mess surrounding him, but it did not good. He was still utterly confused.

"The jinx got spooked by the minks or the lynx?" he questioned.

"Why are you having so much trouble understanding this?!"

"You have got to be kidding me?!" Jack exclaimed. "Why am I having trouble understanding this?! Because it makes no sense! Because you are as confusing as all get out! Everything rhymes! A lynx smelled a sphinx while jink's minks chased a funny bunny! It's like some sort of poetry conundrum."

"I've told you before Jack. Your job is much easier than mine," Elizabeth reminded her husband.

"I should get hazard-duty pay," she added.

"I was just thinking the same thing about myself," Jack noted as he bit his lip to keep from smiling and wondered if there was such a thing for husbands.

* * *

Two hours later, Jack and Elizabeth gathered with the other towns people to start a search party for Walter. When he hadn't gone home after school, his concerned mother had traveled into town looking for him.

"Be careful, Elizabeth. Don't go more than two miles west," Jack reminded her as she pulled herself onto her horse. "We'll meet back here in an hour if you don't find him."

The search party split up into different directions, leaving Walter's mother to worriedly wait with Abigail.

* * *

The first thing Elizabeth noticed when she entered the cave was the chilliness. She pulled her coat tighter against herself and took a deep breath to fortify herself. She had wandered through the woods until she had spied the small cave tucked into a hillside.

 _I hate caves_ she thought but she nevertheless held her lantern high and made her way further inside.

"Walter! Are you in here!"

Elizabeth tried to open her eyes wider to get in more light, but it didn't make a difference. It was still almost impossible to see anything farther than four feet away.

A bat, disturbed by her voice and the lantern's illumination, flew frantically past her, causing her to quickly throw up her hands to protect her face.

* * *

"No luck?" Jack asked the small crowd at the meeting place in front of Abigail's Café.

From a brief glance around, it appeared Jack was the last to return. Several horses were outside, and through the nearby window, he could see a room full of town citizens. While he didn't see Elizabeth, he was happy to see Mr. Foster, Elizabeth's partner when they had divided up into groups of two, inside

"Sorry, Jack."

"Nothing to the north."

"We looked near the old grove but nothing."

"I checked the path to his house but no luck there either."

Everyone shook their heads at their lack of success looking for the poor boy who had been in tears after he had disrupted the school day and caused chaos by bringing minks to class.

The searchers finished tying up their horses and made their way up the step and inside the Cafe to decide what to do next.

"Sit down if you can find a seat. I've got a quick bowl of stew and some coffee for each of you," Abigail informed them as they joined the others already sitting around the tables. She carried a pot of hot coffee and immediately began filling mugs while Clara carried out a tray with bowls of stew.

Jack took off his hat, looked around, and spied his daughter in the arms of Florence. He gave his daughter a quick kiss on the head, and then moved through the crowd.

"Hey, Abigail, is Elizabeth in the kitchen?" he asked as he passed her.

"I haven't seen her. Didn't she come back with you?"

"No. She was partnered with Mr. Foster. Don't worry. I'll go ask him."

* * *

"My horse threw a shoe. I had to come back. Elizabeth said she'd just go another few minutes and then turn around. I thought maybe she was outside waiting for you," the man replied when Jack asked about his wife.

"Has anyone seen Elizabeth?" Jack called out through the noise of the crowd, causing the room to go silent.

While the men and women turned their heads back and forth looking for the Mountie's wife, a crack of lightening shattered the silence.

Jack looked worriedly to the window as the skies darkened and thunder rolled in.

* * *

It hadn't taken Elizabeth long to find the boy once she had entered the cave. Getting him back to Hope Valley was another story.

Not only had the boy sprained his ankle but when Elizabeth got him to the entrance of the cave, she discovered that her horse had run off.

"It must have been the thunder. Horses can be skittish," she surmised as she and Walter stood at the cave entrance and looked at the darkening skies as a storm approached.

* * *

"Lots of people don't fit in when they move somewhere new and different", Elizabeth explained to the boy as they now sat on the cold cave floor and waited for the storm to pass. "Look at Sergeant Thornton. He didn't fit in at all when he first came to Hope Valley. And look how well things turned out."

The boy gave Elizabeth a curious and somewhat disgusted look. "I don't want to marry you, Mrs. Thornton," he announced.

"No, no. that's not what I meant –"

"You're nice, but you're old", the boy interrupted.

"That's not what I meant!"

"And I don't think Mountie Jack would like it if we tried to marry."

Elizabeth took a deep sigh. _Why is teaching so hard,_ she thought.

"Let's look at this differently," she said as she decided to take a different approach to Walter as a victim of bullying.

"How do you mean?"

"It's all about how you look at things and how you portray yourself. For instance, if you see a glass of water partially filled, what do you see?"

"H2O," the boy announced as if he were answering a test question.

Elisabeth took another deep breath and rolled her eyes.

"What else do you see?"

"Water molecules clinging to each other?"

 _Way too much science these last few weeks_! she realized _._

"No, Walter. You're missing my point. How do you _feel_ when you see a glass half filled?"

"Thirsty?"

Elizabeth face-palmed herself and tried again. "Do you see the glass as half full or half empty?"

"Don't make no difference. If I'm thirsty, I'm gonna drink it."

 _I'd like a glass of vodka right about now._

 _Or arsenic._

"If I ain't thirsty, I ain't gonna drink it," the boy continued. "It's like with horses. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."

"Forget the glass of water, Walter."

"Is it like them flowers that we put in jars of water in class today?"

"Forget the glass of water," Elizabeth ordered a bit too harshly but the boy didn't seem to notice.

"We're gonna be thirsty if we have to walk all the way back to town," the boy remarked knowingly. "We'll need some water then."

 _Why am I a teacher? I could just be a housewife and sitting by a warm fire at home now._

"We're not going to have to walk home. Mountie Jack will come get us," she said confidently.

"You tell him you was coming to this cave?"

"No. But -"

"You leave him a note that you was coming to this cave?" the boy interrupted with another question.

"No, of course not. I didn't know you would be here."

"Then how's he gonna know to come get us?"

"Because he'll look for us, and he's very good at his job."

"He gonna bring us a glass of water?"

 _Why didn't I just stay in bed today?_ Elizabeth thought in defeat.

"Look, Walter, Mountie Jack will come looking for us. And I left my hair ribbon tied to a tree outside. Whenever you go into a cave, you tie something near the entrance," Elizabeth informed the boy.

"You should have tied your horse to the tree," the boy knowingly informed her. "Then it wouldn't have run away. We'd probably be home by now if we had a horse. Next time tie your horse instead of a hair ribbon."

 _Jack, if you can read my mind, please come save me._

 _And hurry._

 **Up Next: Chapter 78 Part 3**

Dear Readers:

If you haven't read The Secret Garden, it's a great children's book.

Madden and Pat, Thanks!

Linda, I'll be working on "Out of This World" in a short bit. I haven't forgotten our intrepid couple in space. ㈴2 I'm glad you like them!


	79. Chapter 79 Educating Elizabeth part 3

**Chapter 79 EDUCATING ELIZABETH PART 3**

 **ROMANCE, SCIENCE, AND MATH**

Elizabeth was getting hungry. Not only was she hungry, she couldn't stop thinking about drinking a glass of water.

 _Darn that boy. Now I'm thirsty._

The thunder had stopped twenty minutes ago and she had finally decided that they could walk the two miles home without danger of getting struck by lightning. She just hoped Walter really wasn't a jinx. _Goodness knows, the last thing I want is a jinx if I'm walking in the woods at the end of a rain storm._

"Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth's head jerked towards the cave entrance. She breathed a sigh of happiness when she saw Jack approaching slowly through the trees.

"Over here, Jack!" she called out as she scrambled to her feet and ran outside into the light drizzle.

* * *

"Over there," Elizabeth said forty minutes later with a nod across the large dining room as she indicated that baby's blanket was on the back of a chair.

Once Jack and Bill Avery had found Elizabeth and Walter, the small group had quickly made their way back to town. Walter, clearly not too fazed by the events due to his predisposition for being involved in unfortunate things, had kept up a constant stream of dialogue with Bill, including discussing how Mrs. Thornton had failed to tie her horse to a tree.

Back at the Café, Walter was reunited with his grateful mother, and the Thorntons retrieved their daughter from Florence, who was enjoying cups of tea and eavesdropping on conversations from nearby tables while allowing the baby to play with an assortment of eating utensils.

Jack quickly gathered the blanket, thanked Florence and Abigail, and the family made their way home.

* * *

"You're a good teacher. You went above and beyond again with your students," Jack admiringly told Elizabeth after dinner. He took the last dried plate from her outstretched hand and put it in the plate rack.

After a long day, the couple was finally able to relax after a quick meal of reheated stew which Abigail had sent home with them.

"I'll talk to Walter some more tomorrow. He'll eventually fit in with the other students. It just takes time."

"You were lucky you found him before it got dark," Jack noted. "And smart not to go too far into the cave. I hate to think of you getting lost in there."

"It was the goat smell," she replied simply as she dried her hands on a dish towel. She picked the baby up off of the floor, and handed the small girl to Jack. "You take her. I'll take out the trash."

Jack gave Elizabeth a quizzical look. "The goat smell? What goat smell? There weren't any goats in the cave."

"I told you before. Walter's clothes tend to smell like the goats his family keeps."

"You could smell that in the cave? I had to be right next to him before I smelled anything. That's how you found him?"

"He was hiding in the corner of the cave and it was dark but I smelled the goat scent so I knew he was in there somewhere."

"You're better than a blood hound. My intrepid wife. I need to keep you as my law enforcement partner," he chuckled.

Elizabeth smiled. "I hope you need to keep me for a lot more than that."

* * *

Jack carried his namesake into the front room and smiled at the thought of Elizabeth who had walked out the back door with the day's trash. _She really is incredible. And that sense of smell. They don't teach that in law enforcement._

Suddenly, he stood up straight. A look of utter shock crossed his face.

 _No. No. It can't be,_ he thought. He shook aside his imagination and bent down to retrieve a cloth diaper which had fallen from his shoulder.

 _It could be. I suppose. Nah._

 _But maybe._

Jack crinkled his brows in concern and moved across the room. He held Jacklyn on his lap as he sat in the desk chair and pulled out the calendar from the side drawer.

 _At least three times that week._

 _And the week before? Yep. A few times._

 _The week before that? There was the night of the rainstorm. She loves rainstorms. . . ._

 _. . . . . There was the night we sat by the fire._

Jack frantically flipped the pages of his calendar and tried to mentally revisit the days of the past five weeks.

 _. . . . . The night before I left town for a few days . . . . the night I came back. Oh, that was awesome._

Jack shook his head and quickly ran his finger along the dates in front of him. Trying desperately to jog his memory as to what had occurred each day. And more importantly each night.

 _One . . two, . . . three times that week. . . . . Geez, what got into us?!_

He furiously turned to another page.

 _Aha!_ he thought as if discovering the perfect answer. He relaxed his shoulders and smiled _. Not that Saturday. I fell asleep while she massaged my shoulder._

Jack's smile faltered _. Darn, there was the next morning, I massaged her . . . and one thing led to another._

He gently removed his daughter's hand which she had shoved into his mouth, and continued flipping through the calendar.

 _Aha! Nothing for five days in a row last month_!, he thought with a sigh of relief. He again relaxed in the chair and ran his hand gently along his daughter's hair. _We're good. That must have been when she was_ _having her female_ . . . . .

"What are you looking at?" Elizabeth asked. She walked into the room with some papers to grade in one hand and a cup of tea in the other.

"Just the calendar. I was just checking some dates. We had a boring week from the twentieth to the twentieth fifth. I just noticed that nothing eventful happened. Absolutely nothing of significance," he replied with a grateful look.

Elizabeth leaned over Jack's shoulder and looked at the calendar. She set down the papers and took a sip of tea before she pointed her finger at Tuesday.

"You didn't mark it down, but that's the day that we celebrated me getting the grant for new school books. And Friday," she said as she pointed towards the calendar again, "that was when I hurt my toe when I dropped the pot on it, and you massaged it and carried me around."

Jack frowned when he remembered what had occurred after the she had won the grant and after he had carried her around in his arms. The same thing that usually occurred when they were alone together.

"Are you sure? Are you sure it was that week? Why would you remember something like that?"

"I remember the grant because they told me I would hear by that Tuesday and I had been nervously waiting. And I remember my toe injury was on a Friday because Dolores gave me some of her Matzo ball soup to mix with my chicken stock. And she always makes it on Fridays," Elizabeth explained simply.

"What difference does it make?" she asked with a shrug as she took another sip of tea. "That was weeks ago."

* * *

"No! No! No! We can't be," Elizabeth exclaimed.

She was sitting on the couch with a shocked look on her face after Jack had finished explaining why it made a difference that they had been together so often in the past several weeks without the usual natural monthly interference.

"Jacklyn's not even a year old. We were going to wait before we had another one," she argued.

"We don't even have our house build yet", she unnecessarily added as if Jack hadn't considered that.

"I know," Jack agreed as he sat down next to her. "But I think we have to consider the very real possibility that you're pregnant."

"I can't be," she wailed in disbelief. As if she repeated it enough times it would make it a true statement, even though Jack was right about her lack of a monthly cycle recently.

Jack had explained that according to his brief investigation – which consisted of a review of the calendar and his memory of events, and Elizabeth's recent acute sense of smell - that she was quite possibly pregnant.

"You had that same hypersensitive ability to smell the last time you were pregnant. There's one way to find out", Jack said. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

* * *

"Did you get them?" Elizabeth asked nervously when Jack walked in the front door. He was empty-handed but he nodded affirmatively.

"Got them. Five different kinds. I lied and told Clara that you needed them for school tomorrow. They're on the front porch."

"Let's get started," he said as he looked at Elizabeth who was holding Little Jack. The baby was happily entertaining herself by yanking on a long lock of Elizabeth's hair with one tiny hand while grasping her blouse with the other.

"Stand across the room. I want you at least twenty-five feet away from me."

* * *

Four minutes later, the rudimentary but seemingly reliable test was positive. Elizabeth's usual normal sense of smell was indeed now extraordinary.

The couple sat on the floor surrounded by five pies which Jacklyn found especially fun to play in. Elizabeth absent-mindedly pulled the girl's hands out of the lemon meringue pie and ignored the white fluff now being smeared on her floor.

"You got every one right," Jack said in a daze. "From twenty-five feet away and with the pie hidden in a box, you identified every single one."

"The coconut was the easiest. Of course, the pecan was easy too. . . well, even the cherry was easy," she admitted.

"They were all easy for you! Your sense of smell is better than Rip's! You're pregnant."

"How did this happen?" a stunned Elizabeth asked as she leaned forward and put her head in her hands.

"I think we both know how it happened. It's simple science. Biology. The question is why." A hint of accusation rose in his voice.

"What do you mean why?" Elizabeth looked up at Jack.

"I thought you were doing the rhythm method. You know, keeping track of that . . . female stuff."

"I was. I just forgot," she admitted with a frown.

"Because you swore off math," he retorted. "You wanted nothing to do with math or science. It doesn't take a genius to realize that when you mix romance and biology and forget to count days, someone's going to get pregnant."

"Thank you for your lesson," Elizabeth responded pleasantly with a hint of sarcasm. "Perhaps if you had reminded me before you had your hands up my skirt, it would have been better."

Jack glared at her and shook his head in disgust at himself. When she said things like that – about his hand up her skirt – it had the inevitable effect of turning him on. Which is how they had ended up in this predicament in the first place.

 _Darn her. How does she always manage to be adorable or sexy?!_

"It's not my fault," Elizabeth said as she gave him an innocent look.

"Whose fault is it?" he challenged.

"Yours."

"Mine?!"

"You're the one that's like a character in a romance novel."

Jack gave her a bewildered look. "I am not a character in a romance novel. I'm your husband."

"But you're dreamy!" Elizabeth argued.

"For Pete's sake. I am not dreamy. And you are not escaping responsibility by flattering me. We had said we were going to wait until Jacklyn was older."

"How am I responsible?!"

"You're the woman. You know your body," he reminded her as he gestured helplessly with his hand up and down her figure.

"You know my body pretty well too," she reminded him with a knowing look. "That's how we ended up in this situation."

 _She has a point. Darn, she's good._

* * *

Each of them sat quietly, alone in their thoughts.

Jack looked at his daughter who was concentrating on the importance of her ten little toes which she had smooshed in cherry pie. _She's awfully cute. It would be nice for her to have a sibling. I love Elizabeth and we always knew we wanted a lot of children. It's just a little sooner than we thought. How hard can it be? I love being a father. This might be a lot of fun. Filling our home with babies. A Thornton clan! I'm building us a nice big house. It will be perfect._

"There are _two_ of us _,"_ Jack said optimistically as he reached for a cloth diaper and began cleaning his daughter's toes. "Two children would still be do-able. One set of arms for each of them."

Elizabeth looked at her daughter and watched the baby drool onto the floor. _She's still breastfeeding some! How am I going to handle two children! . . . . I'll never sleep again! . . . . All those diapers.. . .. All that drool. And teething. . . . . If we have a boy, it would be so strange. I know girls, not boys. .. . . . But it would be adorable. . . . . A little version of Jack. . . . . I love Jack and we always knew we wanted a lot of children. . . It's just a little sooner than we thought. I suppose I can give up sleep for another year. . . . .This is actually going to be fine. Filling our home with love. Wait . . .we don't even have our own house yet!_

"It was like shooting fish in a barrel," Elizabeth said pensively.

"What?"

"Like shooting fish in a barrel. You know the saying. It was really easy. With the number of times we're romantically together, getting me pregnant was like shooting fish in a barrel."

Jack was quiet for a moment and then grinned broadly. "I do like _fishing_ with you, if that's what we're now calling it," he said with a chuckle as he thought about the activity that had resulted in getting her pregnant

A laugh escaped Elizabeth's lips and she returned his smile. "I do too."

"I love you."

"I know. And I love you too. Every day more than the day before," she replied sweetly.

"What do you say we forget about grading papers and the three of us crawl into bed and snuggle. And talk about how incredible this is going to be," Jack suggested. He reached out a hand to his smiling wife.

"Sounds perfect."

"And about the blame for this," he said as he juggled his daughter in his other arm. "Instead of blaming you for this pregnancy, I think I'd rather say thank you for not doing the math. For not counting the days. Thank you," Jack said tenderly and honestly as he gently pulled her closer. "Thank you," he whispered again.

"Thank you, too", she whispered just before their lips met.

UP NEXT: CHAPTER 80

 **Dear Readers, I hate that Jack is gone from so many episodes of the tv series, so I am determined that he will** _ **not**_ **be away from any of my chapters in the near future!**


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